The cleanliness problem at Holt High School

Is the school we go to really that clean, or are we missing something?

Taylor Crosslan STAFF WRITER

Multiple staff members and students have concerns about how clean the school is, and how often it is cleaned. Out of everyone in the buildings, the students are the main reason why the school gets so dirty during lunch and passing periods.

Social studies teacher James Keckeisen has a strong opinion on the fact that some teachers let kids eat in their room and some don’t.

“If they don’t eat breakfast, the science is clear about having an empty stomach and trying to learn. [Students] wouldn’t learn as well. But I say healthy stuff only, and if you spill it, we clean it up together,” Keckeisen said.

He allows his students to eat in his classroom because he wants them to learn better, and having an empty stomach can mean it’s harder to learn.

German teacher Janine Baker has a similar thought on letting students eat in her class.

“I do sometimes [allow eating class] because I feel bad that the nutrition break was taken away, and I know it’s hard to focus when you are hungry,” Baker said.

Teachers want their students to learn the best when in their classroom, so letting them eat in class would be the worst of their worries.

According to the Productive Engineer article, if your body lacks nutrients you tend to lose focus more and brain productivity is lower.

However, eating in class can mean an extra reason to clean classrooms more often. The classroom desks are a main concern for Baker.

“They are not clean. But I personally clean the desks in my classroom on a regular basis” said Baker.

Students also draw on their desks everyday and spill food on the them, and so many other things and they don’t often get cleaned.

Baker cleans them so she knows that the desks her students are sitting at are clean.

Baker also shared her feelings on other areas of the school that could need more cleaning.

“I especially think that they skip cleaning the bathrooms and refilling bathroom supplies,” Baker said.

She noted that the girl’s restrooms haven’t been getting cleaned as well as they used to.

Junior Samantha Pell agreed,and realizes that students also play a part.

“The school is very dirty, and high schools when students started taking the soap dispensers out of restrooms as a part of a trend. This made other students not feel as sanitary at school. are able to clean the schools at a time, and if something isn’t cleaned right away, it is because the school is too dirty to clean in one day. escpecially the girls bathroom...So many girls pile into the bathrooms at passing time and lunch, and a lot of people don’t clean up after themselves” Pell said.

Holt Public Schools facilities manager Rick Brown manages the team of district custodians who clean 11 different buildings during the day and in the evening, including the high school.

Brown noted that he has seen some staff helping out.

“I have seen staff at the smaller buildings help pick up trash, and rake leaves, but not at the two high school buildings,” Brown said.

In the 2021-2022 school year, there were sanitation troubles in the junior

“There is one head custodian, and one utility custodian that gets pulled a lot to cover other buildings. There are six to eight night time third party cleaning staff on the second shift,” Brown said.

There are only so many people who

The exteriors of the building could help the school look more welcoming and the inside to make students feel more clean while at school.

Brown has only seen very few people help pick up around the school, inside and outside. Said Pell, “people throw so much food on the ground durning lunch; it makes the commons dirty.”