Lack of lockers leads to lunacy

Milton High School started the school year with a tricky gym locker situation. Co-Principal Mr. Andrew Rantz said the lack of gym lockers is due to a miscommunication between the architect who drew up the plans and the district.

Mr. Rantz said that, as of Sept. 6, new lockers had not been ordered yet. He added that administrators are still trying to determine what the best solution is, as well as where the lockers will be located and how many will be needed.

“We’re very much in the works, we are pretty deep into it, we have quotes, we have estimates, we’re working with some locker companies to figure out what is going to be our best option,” explained Mr. Rantz. He said he does not foresee Milton having new lockers before the end of the first semester.

Mr. Rantz said that this is not because they will not have made a decision, but because the wait for the lockers could be anywhere from three to six months before the lockers would arrive. He added that does not include assembly and installation process.

Mr. Rantz said he hopes that there will be lockers installed by the second semester, but there is nothing certain about that. He added that when the new gym lockers project is complete, students will be allowed to have gym bags that they can keep in their assigned locker throughout the day.

High School Health/PE Teacher Mr. Nicholas Fisher said students have been flexible, and gym teachers are talking with administration about potential solutions to this.

High school students are not allowed to carry gym bags with them despite the lack of lockers, Mr. Rantz said. He added that the rule is intended to make students safer.

“It should always be at the absolute forefront of our minds, but more so now because of the Uvalde (Tex.) shooting at the end of last year, safety-and-security,” added Mr. Rantz.

Mr. Rantz said that he understands the argument that “students bring [backpacks] into school, what would be the harm in having them all day?” but it comes down to not knowing what someone could be carrying around in their backpack all day. This rule about gym bags is in accordance with the school’s general no-backpack policy.

“I don’t want them to have the ability to carry anything that could potentially be dangerous all day long like that,” he added.

The temporary solution for the lack of gym lockers is for students to use their Pride assigned locker to store their gym clothes. Mr. Rantz said all student possessions, such as laptop bags and books, should be stored in these lockers when retrieving clothes for gym class. He added that the gym teachers lock the locker rooms after everyone has changed so that nobody could potentially take a student’s belongings.

Mr. Fisher said that the PE changing policy remains the same. Students are to change at the beginning and end of class for 2 of their 12 credits for the day. He added that given the situation, students are dismissed from PE one minute early for extra time to stop at their pride lockers between classes.

“I feel students have been figuring out what works best for them at the moment, and everyone is being patient until PE lockers arrive and are installed,” said Mr. Fisher.

Mr. Rantz said the school would not be liable if someone’s property is stolen. He said this is because the school is providing alternatives, and giving students time to store items in their lockers. He added that if a student were to go against procedures, it would be their responsibility.

Mr. Rantz added that there have been no problems among students that have been addressed to him. He said that he has checked in with the phys ed department a few times to ask

how students have been handling the current situation, and as far as he has heard, most students have settled in at this point and understand there isn’t much that can be done about the situation.