Southwest Atlanta Parents Concerned About Construction, Safety at Mays and Therrell

The ongoing renovations at Benjamin E. Mays and D. M. Therrell High Schools are creating unsafe conditions for students and the community, several southwest Atlanta parents told the Atlanta Public Schools board, at a community meeting earlier this week.

The district began multi-million dollar renovation projects at both high schools in 2010 with the promise of providing updated facilities better suited for learning in the modern world. But parents and community leaders said Monday that they are worried about the conditions students must endure while renovations are completed.

“I feel like it's not safe for kids to be up there with all that construction going on.” said Rachel Simmons who with her husband, Tony, addressed the board about conditions at Therrell High School, where their son attended school until early 2010.

Rachel Simmons said her concerns heightened a few weeks ago when she visited the school. She observed that part of the newly constructed building was extremely hot while another part, according to students, was extremely cold.

She was also concerned that some students—who were horse playing at the school—were able to knock part of the ceiling from the new building, and that there was a problem providing heat in the building this past November.

In early 2010 the Simmons withdrew their son from Therrell and began home schooling in the middle of his senior year after representatives from the supervising construction company could not assure them that students would not be exposed to asbestos and after Atlanta Public Schools decided not to relocate the students.

 “The contractors said 'we would do all we can to reduce the risk of asbestos.' They didn't say eliminate; they said reduce,” Simmons said.

Rachel Simmons is convinced that APS could have found a temporary location “if they had looked in enough time.”

APS did relocate Mays High students to the old Archer High school in northwest Atlanta while its campus undergoes renovation.

Nevertheless, Mays High parent Sarah Peek told the board that she is quite upset by safety compromises at the Archer building.

Peek told the board that it is unbelievably that they eliminated security during after school hours in an area of the city too familiar with criminal activity. Students who remain after school for team practice and club meetings are particularly vulnerable.

“My daughter has after-school activities in a crime-ridden area,” she exclaimed. “It is unsafe.”

APS spokesman Keith Bromery confirmed that Mays High only has security during the academic day. On Mon., March 7, APS called Mays principal Dr. Smith to tell him that starting the next day, there would no longer be security after the normal school day ends.

According to Peek, APS said budgetary strains did not allow security after hours, and statistically security was not necessary because there was no crime in the area.

Peek, however, provided a different analysis: there is no crime at the school, she said, because security's presence during and after school effectively eliminated it. Indeed, when Mays first moved into the Archer building without the benefit of security, over $20,000 of supplies and equipment were stolen.

Moreover, Peek said she feels continuously slighted by the APS.

“The problem is we have to continually fight for things the southwest Atlanta community needs. Before they made any renovations [at the Archer campus] we had to come down here four or five times. We [also] had to beg for the building to be cleaned.”she said.

Furthermore, Peek said, there is a discrepancy in funding and support for schools on the north side of Atlanta in comparison to those on the south side. “Up North, they fight, but they don't have to fight like we fight . . . as if our children don't matter as much as the children on the North side.”

“There is no one fighting for us. [We] continue to [get] the short end of the stick.”