The Trenton Times published the following article on June 12, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

“We are fed up”: Trenton Central High School students protest building conditions

By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton 
on June 12, 2013 at 4:05 PM, updated June 12, 2013 at 4:18 PM

TRENTON — Tired of peeling paint falling from the cafeteria ceiling into their food, discolored water coming through the pipes, and the faint smell of mold in the air, about 100 students at Trenton Central High School packed up their books and walked out of class yesterday to protest the conditions.

“We are fed up,” said Kimberly Godor, 17. Godor said the school administration has promised for years that there would be repairs to the dilapidated building, which has long been an eyesore inside and out.

The seeming stalemate between the city and the state over improvements to the school has gone on for years, and students worry that generations who come after them will have to endure similar or worse conditions.

“I don’t want it to be like this when my little brother and sister come here,” said Jada Bailey, 16.

The student protest had been in the works for several days and was canceled at one point, but a handful of students decided to go ahead with it anyway.

The walkout started without about a dozen students gathered in front of the building and gradually grew in number.

By 10:30 a.m., about 100 students were outside chanting “Fix our school.”

Students spread word about the protest on social media and by texting their friends encouraging them to join the group.

Senior Rahkeim Crawford said one longtime issue has been leaks through the roof.

“When it rains outside, it rains inside,” said Crawford, 19.

Besides the problem of paint chipping off the walls and ceilings, the bathroom stalls often don’t have doors and the plumbing doesn’t work correctly, students said.

“It doesn’t motivate us to do anything, to come to school,” 17-year-old Ana Gomez said.

Earlier this year, the state Schools Development Authority promised to spend $13.3 million on 18 urgent repairs for the 80-year-old building, but the district has yet to receive the funds.

A spokeswoman for the SDA said yesterday that the authority’s board members hope to award a bid to a design consultant for the Trenton Central High fix-up project this summer.

Demaris Castillo, the parent of one of the students who participated in the protest, said renovations have been promised for years but have never materialized.

“These are the same words I heard four years ago,” she said. “You can’t keep telling these kids the same things and not delivering.”

Principal Marc Maurice and several vice principals came outside to try to encourage the students to go back inside and attend the rest of their classes. When they refused, he asked them to come inside to have a discussion about the building issues.

Maurice said teachers at the school were advised by the Trenton Education Association, the district’s teachers union, not to walk out with the students. Several students said their teachers told them they feared they would be fired or punished if they participated in the protest.

Naomi Johnson-Lafleur, TEA president, said she told teachers “to be careful.”

“I advised the teachers on their duty as instructors and what can happen,” she said.

Johnson-Lafleur said the TEA has been very involved in working with the school district and the SDA to improve the school.

“I understand their frustration with this whole process,” Johnson-Lafleur said. “And for a student I’m certain that it seems that nothing is being done. We are working with the community to do what we can to get them in motion again.”

Maurice, vice principals and Assistant Superintendent Shelley Jallow, will have a meeting tomorrow morning with several students to discuss the process of seeking funding for improvements and to hear students’ concerns about what needs to be fixed, the principal said.

“I work here every day so I know the conditions of the school,” Maurice said to the students. “We are in support of you. We want the school to get better.”

Jallow, who came to the school when she heard about the walkout, said she hopes that the students can learn about how district is working to get money for improvements and about the difficult and complex process of working with the state to secure those funds.

She said she is proud of the students for showing they are engaged in their community and care about the future of the school, even if they won’t be taking classes there when the construction is completed.

“Although they are leaving they may be coming back in other ways,” Jallow said. “I’m proud of the fact that they see what is beyond their immediate need.”

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.