Since returning to school there have been many changes that have happened for better and for worse, specifically speaking though, the filth in the school has taken a turn for the worse and it’s only been increasing. Due to the pandemic, much of the school staff has been decreased making their jobs even more difficult to accomplish than before. The custodian staff however has been nearly cut in half compared to prior years, and due to this situation, many areas in the school are inaccessible to the custodian staff. The reason for this is the safety and privacy of students, causing the filth in the school to remain untouched for periods of time. The cause for this garbage is the inability for it to be thrown out from areas such as the bathrooms and locker rooms resulting in these also not being fully cleaned and sanitized due to custodian staff members being unable to enter, the reason for this mostly stemming from gender restrictions. The school staff has also been having trouble with keeping up with the overwhelming amount of garbage that is being left around the school.

The cafeteria is one of the places where many students choose to eat and spend their lunch period, but what many don’t realize is just how much trash is being left behind after each period. Trash in the cafeteria is often left on the tables and the floor surrounding them, this is the major problem in the cafeteria as each table with trash left over only takes more time to clean which means that other parts of the cafeteria won’t be sanitized in time for the next period resulting in many tables remaining covered in leftover food and stains. Many complain about the filth in the cafeteria but don’t contribute to cleaning after themselves either and this only leads to trash littering the cafeteria and the custodian staff being unable to clean every table between periods.

According to the custodian staff, the courtyards have been a major dumping site for garbage, trash is constantly left on tables and scattered throughout the courtyard left to rot or lie hidden until it’s found and thrown away. Additionally, with the state the trash is in by the time it’s found, rarely anyone wants to touch it with it being rotting food or a wrapper that has been covered in filth from being outside, this resulting in the garbage being left to be found by custodian staff.

Trash bins around the school have also been greatly ignored. Much of the trash that is picked up around the cafeteria and courtyards can easily be thrown away but is deliberately left due to laziness. Many trash bins are also spread around the school in the halls and classrooms for staff and student convenience, however many of the garbage bins are still ignored and trash is dropped in the halls which only takes longer to clean which is a difficult task due to the short numbers and since more and more garbage is constantly thrown into the mix.

The halls in the school are also a problem. Trash is constantly left on the floors and is kicked around until it ends up being pushed to the sides waiting to be picked up throughout the day. Along with cleaning the halls of larger trash, the smaller garbage such as pieces of food or wrappers only make it harder to clean as they can be in difficult spots to reach and can easily be missed.

With all the difficulties from the pandemic, the school staff has done their best to maintain the schools cleanliness but with the overwhelming amount of garbage and messes made by students, the state of filth in the school continues to build.