HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — If you have ever used a Porta-Potti, more often than not, the decision wasn’t by choice, but those are the facilities students at Agueda I. Johnston Middle School must use daily, and they are “tired of it.”
“Most of the kids are seventh or sixth graders in that area, and it feels to me, at least, disrespectful from the school or (the Guam Department of Education) because we’re kind of being forced to use those facilities. They are also very hot. It stinks quite a bit. It’s a health issue. … Students are tired of it, and it’s just unhygienic and unhealthy to be there,” said Jeffrey, a sixth grade student.
Jeffrey, a senator in the student government body, called on his school community, through a petition, to demand better restroom facilities.
“I started the petition because of the inaction of GDOE with our school. It was mainly to deal with the restroom issue … and to repair our facilities,” Jeffrey said.
The petition has garnered over 220 signatures from students, teachers and other stakeholders.
The petition states, “This is the Agueda Johnston Middle School students. This is a petition to fix all the school restrooms and get rid of the Porta-Potties. We want that as soon as possible. We feel neglected as a school, and we need help to improve our school. We want to fix this school, not only for us but for the future generations to come. We want to be seen as a good, healthy and thriving school. Not a low-budget, rundown school where all you hear about is fights and broken restrooms. Do you think Porta-Potties are good restrooms for kids learning? We need actual support and restrooms.”
The portable restrooms used at the school do not flush but instead self-contain excrement, which can become rather smelly, especially on a hot day. As a result, Jeffrey said students are opting to hold it in.
“I know that not a lot of students are using the restrooms now. Personally, I have never use the facilities a lot. I’ve used them maybe once or twice, but I do not like them. It makes me feel like I need to wait to go home, and I know most of the students feel that way,” Jeffrey said.
The National Institutes of Health said delaying urination on a habitual basis was found to be associated with urinary tract infections.
“Holding urine for (a) long time has proven to be an important risk factor. And amongst different reasons of holding urine, holding due to poor sanitary condition of public toilets was the most common,” stated a report in the National Institutes of Health.
The petition has been provided to GDOE Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson, who met with Jeffrey and the AJMS Parent Teacher Organization chair, Mark Mendiola, last week.
“It was a very productive meeting. Everyone was very responsive, and everybody wanted change. The superintendent expressed general concern with our restroom situation. But it was brought up that the main issue was the Legislature and the (attorney general),” Jeffrey said.
The student referenced the ongoing issue involving the attorney general withdrawing representation as legal counsel for 22 government agencies due to a potential conflict of interest. GDOE is among the 22 agencies.
Attorney General Douglas Moylan’s initial announcement indicated that the Office of the Attorney General could not sign off on government documents due to the potential conflict, according to Post files.
The governor shared concern that the withdrawal impacts critical government procurements and services.
Moylan, days later, clarified that his office would still process and approve documents but with the disclaimer that it is not acting as legal counsel to agencies and departments.
The matter has been brought before the Supreme Court of Guam by the governor, who requested a declaratory judgment.
During the meeting, the superintendent noted a possibility of working around the issue, Jeffrey said. “(The superintendent) brought up if we break it up into smaller projects they might be able to do it, but it’s been a while now,” Jeffrey said.
“The superintendent basically asserted that Agueda is a priority in getting repairs,” said Mendiola.
Swanson confirmed meeting with the student, Mendiola, who is also a former Guam Education Board chair, and the school’s principal, Rebecca Perez.
“The student is well-informed and presented the position of the students very well. He was not aware that AJMS is included in a major refurbishment project that includes refurbishment of all of the restrooms and that we have maintenance teams on site repairing sewer lines. This was not a change in planned work. The contract for the planned work is in the final negotiation and legal review stages now,” Swanson said.
Jeffrey’s father, Brian, encouraged his son to take action.
“We just had a conversation about things he could do himself to help improve his situation, and in his way, he has always been outgoing and kind of encouraged him to find ways that he could help improve the bathroom situation and other areas of the school by taking action in his capacity as sixth grade senator,” Brian said. “It was really his idea. He came up with the idea to do the petition, and he wrote it entirely himself and distributed it and lobbied for signatures. So it’s really 99% his doing.”
Brian agreed that repairs need to be made sooner rather than later for the sake of a conducive learning environment.
“It obviously affects the kids. Kids need to not be worried about using Porta-Potties (or) rain coming into their classrooms. … They need to be focused on learning. These things are distractions, and it affects their pride in their school and how they view their school. You hear a lot of kids talking about (how) the school’s rundown. They know there’s problems. And when you talk to a kid about school, that’s not the first thing you want to hear from them, that there’s problems. You want to hear about what they’re doing and what they’ve accomplished, how they are being educated,” Brian said.
“I remember the governor in her State of the Island address accused the Legislature of manufacturing a crisis relative to our public schools, but I think this petition and these students at Agueda standing up and speaking out is a real big fat reality check for elected officials across our island,” Sen. Chris Barnett said.
Barnett, who is the chair of the legislative committee on education, has been critical of GDOE complying with the mandates of the Every Child is Entitled to an Adequate Public Education Act.
“GDOE has failed in so many ways to deliver an adequate education. The only remedy for a lot of our parents and stakeholders have is suing the GDOE. Have we made progress? Yeah, we’ve made progress, but obviously, there’s still much work to do. I just question why GDOE didn’t make repairs and upgrades to the schools that are being sued … relative to the Adequate Education Act,” Barnett said.
“It’s very frustrating having our kids use the restroom in Porta-Potties during their school day, and we have the GDOE leadership focused on giving themselves big fat raises in their budget proposal. I think that says a lot about the GDOE leadership, and it’s very disappointing,” said Barnett.
Portable restrooms on the Agueda I. Johnston Middle School campus in Ordot on Thursday, March 14, 2024.
