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Inglewood High School cleanup follows KPCC report
A buckling roof in the courtyard of Inglewood High School in the fall of 2014.
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Karen Foshay/ KPCC
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A girls bathroom within the gym at Inglewood High School in the fall of 2014.
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Karen Foshay/ KPCC
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Holes dot the ceiling of the Inglewood High gym in the fall of 2014. On a recent visit, KPCC found the backboard of one the baskets wasn't fully attached.
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Karen Foshay/ KPCC
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What appears to be blood stains the sink inside a bathroom in Inglewood High gym in the fall of 2014. Staffers tell KPCC it was there for at least a week.
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Karen Foshay/ KPCC
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The walls of a bathroom in the gym at Inglewood High appear to be damaged by fire in a photo taken in the fall of 2014.
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Karen Foshay/ KPCC
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In the wake of KPCC's report last week documenting dilapidated facilities, faulty fire alarms and filthy restrooms at Inglewood High School and other campuses in the Inglewood Unified School District, the state trustee in charge of the district has announced several steps to improve conditions at the high school.
"The District is aware of recent media reports regarding the condition of our school facilities, including the Inglewood High School restrooms," trustee Don Brann said in a statement. He said that after "a full walkthrough" of the high school's campus two weeks ago, "maintenance staff prioritized a list of repairs." Brann also announced these measures:
- A custodial crew on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 used pressure washers to conduct a deep cleaning of the school restrooms.
- A second deep cleaning of all restrooms will be scheduled within the coming days.
- Full-time custodians will be assigned to a designated set of restrooms.
- A faculty restroom will be converted to a student restroom to better meet students’ needs.
- An extermination company will visit the campus on a monthly/ongoing basis.
- Additional training and support will be provided to custodial and maintenance staff to help reinforce best practices.
- Monthly walk-throughs will be scheduled with the District’s Director of Maintenance, Operations and Transportation and the school principal.
Inglewood Unified "is fully aware of conditions at its aging schools, which is why the District has released a proposed plan that calls for updating and replacing buildings, including Inglewood High," Brann said in the statement. He said his staff is planning the new high school "while also working to address these [sic] concerns and recommendations from the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team," which issued a report sharply critical of the district's leadership in August.
Separately, California Department of Education spokeswoman Tina Jung said State Schools Superintendent Tom Torlakson had a "productive" meeting last Friday with his leadership team, Brann, and some of Brann's staff. She provided no further details.
Torlakson said in an interview on KPCC's Take Two program last week that he would convene the Friday meeting so he could receive a "thorough briefing on all issues related to the [Inglewood] district." He also promised that he and his staff would "get to the bottom of things that need fixing right away."
The state took over Inglewood Unified in 2012, saving the district from bankruptcy. Brann is the latest of three trustees appointed to run the 20-school system.
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