Is toilet paper being kept out of bathrooms and rationed to students?

ktrk ^

[chance33_98]

Is toilet paper being kept out of bathrooms and rationed to students?

By Chris Adams ABC13 Eyewitness News (2/10/04 - HOUSTON) — One Houston elementary school is struggling with a personal hygiene issue that's dividing parents and testing the potty training of some young students. We're talking about Chatham Elementary School where some critics are saying that toilet paper should be made more available for everyone.

Parents and students at Chatham Elementary School say toilet paper is rationed out, instead of being available in the restrooms.

There is disagreement about the problem, and school officials even deny there is a problem. But talk with some young people and parents about the toilet paper issue, and you get a very different story.

If you're a student at Chatham Elementary and you need to go to the bathroom, you might want to think ahead says parent Fidela Torres.

She explained, "There's a bathroom monitor. A child stands at the door of the bathroom. As the kids are going in they hand out pieces of toilet paper, which is four or five sheets because I even stood there and asked the child for toilet paper and she handed me like five sheets and I said 'Hey, this isn't going to be enough.' But that's how they do it. They don't have toilet paper in the bathroom."

The principal says that's not true, issuing a statement saying, "Chatham Elementary School keeps toilet paper in the restrooms for use by children. Occasionally a restroom may not have paper available. For that reason, toilet paper, soap and paper towels also are kept in classrooms."

Still, lots of the young students we talked with tell a different story.

Seven-year-old Natasha Runnels told Eyewitness News there's never paper in the bathroom, and she gets it from the classroom when she needs it. Alondra Deleon, also age seven, agreed that toilet paper is doled out in small portions by the teachers.

But not every parent feels the policy is a bad one.

"When the students have the toilet paper in the rest room, they, like, wet up the toilet paper in the sink or tear it off and play with it and throw it everywhere. That's why they don't keep it in the bathroom," said parent Lakeisha Randle.

For Torres the issue became more serious.

"There was a report filed with CPS about my son walking funny and all because he couldn't wipe himself with enough toilet paper," related Torres.

CPS confirms they investigated and a medical examination was even done before the case was closed. Torres feels the situation is ridiculous.

"If you have to go, you've got to go and if you need more than four or five sheets you should have it," she said. "That's what it comes down to."

The school district does mention the problem of children playing with the tissue as part of the reason it may at times be unavailable in the bathrooms.

[KantianBurke]

"There was a report filed with CPS about my son walking funny and all because he couldn't wipe himself with enough toilet paper," related Torres. CPS confirms they investigated and a medical examination was even done before the case was closed."

This BS is much more disturbing than the toilet paper issue. What's the matter? CPS nazis trying to find ways to overlook more horribly abused kids?

[martin_fierro]

We need federal legislation.

[nuconvert]

"Eyewitness News" - kind of a private issue for eyewitnesses, isn't it? Lol

Ridiculous - I know kids some places are expected to provide kleenex for the classroom. Or where the teacher has to buy it herself.

[Dataman]

This is a way to pressure the parents so next time there is a tax increase proposal, it will pass. Our district has tried such tactics and failed each time. Note that the funds are needed "for the children" but rarely go there. Instead they go for office furniture, remodeling, administrative salaries, paint jobs on district vehicles, and PC texts and posters.

[Protagoras]

Why is this story posted in news? In fact, why is it even on this site? Just curious.

[blackdog]

"No Child Left Behind" Legislation has just become clear to me.......

[DonQ]

I had heard a similar story about a homeless shelter in California (and I bet it was true for a hundred similar places all over the map); because at least one (probably unknown) person had repeatedly stopped up the toilets, and wasted the shelter's very limited resources, by tossing in an entire roll of toilet paper. After repeated (and unpleasant) ventures at unplugging toilets, and considerable cost in toilet paper, the shelter removed all the rolls from the bathroom and anyone making a visit to the loo had to stop by the guard's desk to get some paper - I don't know how stingy or generous they were with paper per visit. This solution was considered degrading, etc., but there aren't a whole lot of better choices, especially given the very slender budgets those shelters had.

[EggsAckley]

parent Lakeisha Randle

[cruiserman]

I always carried my own roll in my book bag :).

[blackdog]

Our district was going to cancel the art class ciriculum due to limited funds. It seems they needed $80,000 for art supplies and the greedy residents would not approve a spending referendum.

We asked for a list of the art supplies which were needed. We went to Staples and art supply retailers and bought the entire list for $1,800 in donations. It turned out that the art teacher wanted to take her sabatical to Rome the next year and the district needed the cash to pay her expenses abroad!

They got caught not only lying, but now had to explain why they were spending $30,000 on art supplies we could buy retail for $1,800, every friggin year!

[nuconvert]

That was my first reaction when I saw the headline.

But it relates to NEA and liberals whining about needing more taxes for schools, etc.

[elli1]

I know kids some places are expected to provide kleenex for the classroom.

Absolutely a fact. Two boxes of Kleenex is on the school supplies list for elementary students in my local school district and if you don't send them to school, you'll get reminder notes from the teacher & the kid will get verbal reminders. Funding level per public school student 2002-2003 school year was $9643 in my state and still, you get dunned for two boxes of Kleenex.

My seventh grader has been telling me that there is no soap in the school bathroom.

[hispanarepublicana]

When I was living in the dorm during college, the toilet paper consisted of small squares (about 4X6) of thin paper that came out of a dispenser similar to a paper napkin dispenser at a diner.

[codyjacksmom]

Ok, correct me if I'm wrong. If they have a bathroom monitor to hand out rations because kids play with and waste the TP, then why doesn't the monitor just monitor the bathroom while the the kids are in there and make sure they don't play with the paper?!

[skip2myloo]

In Vietnam, a soldier wrote home to his grandmother asking her to send toilet paper because the Army wouldn't give him any. She did and she also wrote to her congresscritter, who launched an investigation.

There was no shortage of toilet paper in base camp.

Usually toilet paper was placed in the outhouses by the papasans and kept covered by a coffee can.

Human nature being what it is, most folks didn't replace the can over the tissue.

Not a problem except during the monsoons, when rain would blow through the screen "windows" and soak the paper.

You can imagine the frustration of running to the outhouse on Malaria pill day only to find a dripping wet roll of toilet paper.

So, in this particular unit, the supply sergeant decided to issue a roll of toilet paper to each individual and they could take their personal roll with them when necessary.

Whenever a person needed more, all they had to do was go to the supply room and get all they wanted.

Apparently the grandson did not like this methodology.

The commander's letter back to the congresscritter explained all of this.

Also, the enterprising supply sergeant found the Army's planning criteria and that also was explained.

The Army, at least back then, figured that each soldier would sit three times a day - and that 3 sheets were the norm for each sitting, thus the planning criteria was for 9 sheets per soldier per day, or 270 sheets in a 30-day month.

The issue roll of toilet paper contained 1,000 sheets, which should last almost 4 months.

Toilet paper, however, was not rationed and this soldier was entitled to as much as he wanted -- but it was his own individual duty to draw his own supply and then act as custodian.

We never heard anymore about the issue of tissue.

[B4Ranch]

They got caught not only lying, but now had to explain why they were spending $30,000 on art supplies we could buy retail for $1,800, every friggin year!

And the answer was?

[chance33_98]

ktrk seemed to think it was an important issue, on their news page it is the second story listed in the headlines. While the title may make it seem like a silly issue, it does open up debate on taxes, public schools, children's education, and so on and so forth. If the schools cannot even get using toilet paper right how in the world will the get teaching kids correctly?

[nuconvert]

Can you imagine if 1/2 that money was really spent on each child, what sort of an education they could really have?
The waste is awful.

[skip2myloo]

You know, the media makes me laugh. I just shake my head when I hear: "Now, let's go to Katie who's live at the scene of a quadruple murder."