The Sac City Unified Board of Education was presented with a resolution submitted by Vanessa Reyes and the Student Advisory Council earlier this summer urging the district improve the conditions of school restrooms by holding campuses accountable for the quality of their restrooms.
Reyes, as the main adult advisor for the council, agreed to give insight on the resolution helping to better understand it and what it means for the future of the Sacramento City Unified School District.
Responding to a question asking when the council realized they needed to make a push like this, she said that “Student respondents expressed that there was a lack of products available including toilet paper, soap, paper towels, and menstrual products, they shared concerns that restroom locks, soap dispensers, and sink faucets were left broken for extended periods of time, and that most restrooms were closed and inaccessible during school hours making it incredibly difficult to use the restroom during short passing periods.”
Reyes made it very clear that throughout the entire school district the quality of restrooms were at an all time low and needed to be addressed.
Regarding the struggles getting the resolution approved Reyes said,”The resolution itself was not difficult to pass with our board of education. However, writing the resolution itself proved to be a significant effort that required the collaboration and support of students and multiple district departments, specifically Facilities Support Services.”
Reyes said she made sure to show how much effort went into making this resolution from the student council.
“Students had to write multiple drafts of the resolution and review it over the course of months with representation from the above department, as they wanted to ensure that what they were advocating for was achievable prior to presenting to the Board of Education.”
Reyes and the council shared their determination for making sure their resolution is taken seriously.
“Students are looking forward to ensuring that the resolution is followed through in the coming months,” Reyes said, “There is still much work to be done, but the students are ready to hold the various stakeholders accountable for its implementation.”
Expanding on that Reyes said,”Should the resolution as outlined not be enacted, students are prepared to return to the Board of Education as many times as necessary to voice their concerns and continue to advocate for campus restroom hygiene.”
Christopher Wong, an English teacher at John. F. Kennedy High School, also agreed to speak on this resolution and what he would also want to see come from the district.
Wong expressed his appreciation for the resolution and faith with Sac Unified.
“Using the bathroom is a basic need,” he said.”I really do think that if this can get this smoothed out, it’ll go a long way for students’ goodwill, because students know that it is a problem.”
Further expanding on his hope for a brighter future in the district, Wong said,”I think this is a really good opportunity for Sac City to prove that it’s really listening to students and families and is really trying to make all parts of the educational experience good for kids.”
“It’s an opportunity to show that we can actually make things better and work,” he said.” “So I have a lot of hope that we’ll work together to get this done.”
