The bathroom conspiracy

So, yesterday? Remember the problem I had? Particularly exacerbated by the difficulty I had getting into the ladies room? Well, the plot thickens.

For the entire school term last year, we were waiting for our rooms to be re-keyed. All doors were redone to be handicap accessible, but all doors then had the same "builder's" key or "contract" key. That's because although the district contracted out for new doors, they forgot to add that we needed each to have a different lock. So, we had to have our district locksmith do it. As every school in the district (all seven) had the same work done, and each school has over 100 doors, and as we have only one locksmith, we knew it would take a while. An entire school year we didn't expect, but we waited it out.

Until the new keys came, we didn't have a key for the locker hall doors to get to the staff bathroom. We lived with it, because we knew, of course, that when the locksmith got around to re-keying the doors, he'd do the locker hall ones too. Besides, we would wedge the door open a bit anyway, so we wouldn't have to run around to the other side. Most of the time this worked.

One day, I went to the doors, and they were no longer wedged open. In addition, there was no way to keep the door unlatched; it automatically locked from our side when closed. From there on, I ran around the back of the building, went in the OPEN doors on that side, and came back out of the original doors, only one door away from my room. That was more of a bother, but not impossible.

Then yesterday came. When the elementary teacher said she didn't have a key to the locker hall doors on her side, I didn't question it, since I didn't have one for the ones on my side. Even though we finally got our new locks, and I now have one individual to my room, the lock on the other doors hasn't changed.

Come to find out that it's not that she didn't just have a key. They are trying to keep our junior high teachers out of the bathroom! Really. See, I may have mentioned that our supply budget has been cut by 40%. This, we are told, is due to the raise we fought so hard to get last year (which was only what the cost of living increase was, which was determined by and sent to our district by the state board of Education. Meaning, that the money had been sent down anyway. Our local school board is now just punishing us).

Toilet paper, paper towels and handsoap are part of those supplies. We get our money, and the elementary school gets their money. We have our custodians, they have their custodians. Actually, there is one custodian that we share as well. Anyway, from what I heard, the junior high custodians "borrow" the supplies from the elementary school supply closet, and don't replace what they take. That's got the elementary secretary all up in arms. Even though we are supposed to share the staff bathroom, she feels that they're paying to keep it stocked, therefore we, the junior high teachers, should not be allowed to use it.

Oh. My. God.

This is what I'm reduced to. Fighting over the right to use a spare square of toilet paper. Fighting for the right to use the bathroom during one of the three 4-minute breaks I get between 8:30 and Noon. Fighting to stay somewhat close to my classroom, as the next staff bathroom is at the front of the school, inside the main office.

This is such malarky.

I'm a professional, I have a Master's degree, I'm trusted with people's cherished children.

Yet I'm kept from using the toilet over a few bucks.

Sometimes I just want to throw my hands up in the air in disgust.