GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — No better way to see how Guilford County Schools are falling apart than to see it for yourself. That's the idea behind a tour of schools by some county commissioners. They're visiting one school each week, to see the issues.
On Wednesday, commissioners toured Northwood Elementary in High Point. The building conditions there are evident in just about every hallway. There are leaks in the roof and cracked floors just to name a few. The principal hopes changes are coming.
"Our buildings are failing us," Guilford County Schools Chief Operating Officer Michelle Reed said.
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Northwood Elementary School has stood since 1956 and school leaders said it's long overdue for a serious facelift.
"The sad note is, we just built a new animal shelter, and right now we have our animals in better conditions than we have our children," Guilford County Commissioner Chairman Skip Alston said.
Alston saw the issues during the tour. He said there are decades of problems that need to be taken care of now.
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"The bathrooms were horrible, the patchwork on the trailers was horrible, the ceilings, no heat, and the gym that they call a gym, that's embarrassing," Alston said.
Northwood is on the list of schools to rebuild. Principal Susan Steen welcomes the fresh start.
"I liken it to business. No successful business has its employees to work in these conditions we're asking teachers to work in and nobody wants to put our most precious possessions in these conditions," Steen said.
Alston found similar issues when he toured Page High School in Greensboro a few weeks ago.
Vice-Chair Carlvena Foster also walked the halls. She said there were several problems that caught her eye.
"What shocked me the most were the cracks in the floors," Foster said. "I wouldn't want my granddaughter learning or attending schools in some of these conditions."
Alston said he's hopeful a bond referendum on the spring ballot passes because these problems aren't going away.
If voters approve the bond next spring, all 126 schools in the district will see impacts.
