Druid Hills High parents, students rally outside DeKalb County School Board meeting
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - DeKalb County School Board members agreed there are serious safety and health issues that require immediate attention at Druid Hills High School, but after a lengthy discussion the majority rejected calls for a major overhaul, voting instead to make some of the more pressing repairs.
Speakers attending Monday night's DeKalb County School Board meeting strained to be heard over student demonstrators at times.
The group rallied to draw attention to their concerns about conditions at the DeKalb County school.
Chants from students and parents from Druid Hills High could be heard during a DeKalb County School Board meeting on April 18, 2022. (FOX 5)
Students, parents plead board improves conditions at Druid Hills High
Several students, parents and educators spoke during the meeting. They urged board members to approve a major overhaul of the district's oldest facility.
Druid Hills High School is in school board member Marshall Orson's district. He called conditions there "deplorable".
Parents and students supporting Druid Hills High rally outside a DeKalb County School Board meeting on April 18, 2022. (FOX 5)
Fellow board member Anna Hill said such concerns must be addressed not only at Druid Hills, but other schools in the district also wrestling with critical health and safety issues.
After much discussion, the board did not vote to modernize Druid Hills. Despite Orson's objection, a majority voted instead to make immediate repairs to Druid Hills and other school facilities.
Orson, in expressing his disappointment with the board's action, said their decision did a disservice and harm to future Druid Hills students.
Video of problems at Druid Hills goes viral
Seven frustrated students just put together this eight-minute video, detailing what they said are years worth of problems.
"These signs right here say do not touch the poles or the outlets, right, because we are at risk of electrical shock," senior Townes Purdy can be heard saying in the video.
The students said they created the video to help raise awareness of the problems and get the district to expedite fixing them.
"Human waste tends to flow up from up it and flood this area right here which is known as our senior picnic area, and we eat outside here every day," Purdy said on the video.
While the exterior is beautiful, the students said behind these brick walls neglect seeps through every inch of this campus.
"Electrical issues, mold issues, water damage. We're really just trying to put that into the light," Purdy detailed.
DHHS is located on Haygood Drive near Emory University.
"I don't feel this is safe or healthy for us," 11th grader Montrice Berry said. "We need help, and we need more people to speak for us."
Druid Hills removed by district from projects list
The school touts itself as one of the oldest within the DeKalb County School District and has been right here since 1928.
Back in February, parents and students said board members removed the campus from a list of schools to become eligible for renovation and modernization projects.
"It makes us feel small and unwanted and ignored and overlooked," Jack Cole, a 10th grader, described.
"Some of the problems within the school building are systemic that it doesn't make sense to bring someone out to fix the plumbing when it's not fixable from the surface," Lani Martz, whose daughter attends the school, said.4
"We just want future generations here at Druid Hills and us to be treated like we should be because we are students of DeKalb County and value our education," 11th grade student Darion Frazier said,
Superintendent reacts to student video
Druid Hills High School students say problems like mold, plumbing, electrical issues and water damage have plagued their campus for quite some time. Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris said the video "showed many areas of concerned throughout the building that we have a long known about and have been working to address in meaningful ways."
"I'm scared to touch the sink because that thing is gonna fall off," a student could be heard on the video saying.
DeKalb County Schools initial responds to viral video
In a statement, the district said they "remain committed to ensuring that all our scholars are in positive learning environments."
Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris said the video "showed many areas of concerned throughout the building that we have a long known about and have been working to address in meaningful ways."