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Local school districts seek solutions to limit smoking in bathrooms
Thursday, September 17, 1998 By Gretchen McKay and Julia Silverman, Post-Gazette Staff Writers
Elizabeth Gardner knew to expect some challenges when she entered junior high school last year.
Little did she dream, however, that going to the bathroom would be one of them.
As a freshman at Mt. Lebanon, Gardner quickly discovered that a trip to the restroom, at least if one wished for a pleasant experience, couldn't be left to chance. Especially if the call of nature had to be answered in the art class wing.
"Those bathrooms were the worst!" said Gardner, 13, crinkling her nose. "You'd go in smelling normal and come out smelling like you'd been smoking, and then the teachers would look at you funny."
Gardner eventually learned to pick the right bathroom as well as the right moment -- during class time, when kids were less likely to congregate.
It was much the same experience for Marlee Bruno, 13, now an eighth-grader at Northgate Junior/Senior High School.
"When I was in seventh grade, I tried the bathroom on the second day of school, and it was so horrible, the rest of the year I tried not to go in there," she said.
Bad behavior in the school bathroom is hardly unique to this generation or a particular district. But school officials are finding new ways to deal with the problem.
In Northgate, the plan is an "honors bathroom."
Though still in the preliminary stages -- school directors first discussed the idea at Monday's planning session -- superintendent James Manley hopes the board and parents will support the idea after details are worked out.
"We really want to reward kids for good behavior, give them a little bit of freedom because they've earned it," said Manley, who came up with the idea after visiting several military academies over the summer.
Manley said the plan could work like this: Students sign an honor code, which would emphasize personal responsibility, trustworthiness and integrity. Then, they'd be given a computerized card that would allow access for up to four students at any one time into two specially designated "honors" bathrooms, most likely on the third floor of the high school.
Should a student be cited for any violations, he or she would lose privilege to use that bathroom for one semester.
The bathrooms, said Manley, who hopes the $6,000 start-up fee would be covered by a state grant, would give students "a chance to go into a restroom like that at the Hilton. ... Kids have a right to feel comfortable in the bathroom." Officials will further discuss the idea at a meeting on Sept. 30.
It's not just the smoky bathroom air that bothers them, some students said, but the demeanor of some of the offenders.
"It was really scary," recalled Bruno, who came to Northgate from a Catholic elementary school where she said nobody smoked. "The girls are so much bigger than you and have really bad language. And because they're afraid of getting caught, sometimes they won't even let you in."
She'd often wait until she could visit her own bathroom at home, a situation that left her "really, really uncomfortable" at school.
"Holding it" isn't the best of medical situations. Retaining one's urine might lead to an increased risk of a urinary tract infection, particularly in girls, said pediatrician Paul Rowland, a partner at Pittsburgh Pediatric Associates. And children with respiratory problems might have a bad reaction to cigarette smoke.
But the biggest risk of delaying a trip to the potty, he said, "is the inability to maintain attention and comfort in the classroom when your bladder is full all day long."
In Mt. Lebanon, administrators this week approved a plan to remove the outside doors from bathrooms in one wing, giving illicit smoke no place to waft but out into the hallways where it may alert teachers.
Chartiers Valley High School in recent years has added five "campus safety employees" who help monitor bathrooms.
At Shaler Area High School, decreasing the time between classes to three minutes has "had a remarkable impact," officials said.
"We made the change this fall mainly to add more academic time in the classrooms," said David Shutter, assistant principal. "But a sidelight is that is has helped with the bathroom problems. There is not as much time to linger."
Also at Shaler, four security guards -- two male and two female -- circulate throughout the bathrooms during the day.
"If the guard sees smoke coming out of the stall, either the student is on fire or smoking," Shutter said. "The guard can confront the student and refer them to the office."
Surveillance cameras in the hallways at schools in the Ringgold district in Washington County catch students going in and out of the bathrooms.
And, said Dr. Harry Miale, the district's director of public relations, Ringgold "stole an idea from Denny's restaurant" -- every hour, custodians check on the level of bathroom supplies to make sure no one's up to any hijinks like stuffing paper towels into toilets.
Pat Crawford, Pittsburgh school district spokeswoman, said there is a "constant adult presence" in the district's bathrooms -- teachers, custodians, security guards, school administrators.
"We don't want students to avoid using the bathrooms all day out of fear," she said.
One of the more effective ways to stop bathroom smoking is to follow the law, some school officials said.
Under the Tobacco Free Schools Act, or Act 145, signed into law by Gov. Ridge in December 1996, school districts have the power to initiate prosecution of students who smoke on school grounds or possess tobacco.
School districts write citations for students caught smoking and submit them to the local magistrate's office. The act allows magistrates to impose smoking cessation programs in lieu of a fine, which can be up to $50 plus court costs.
"The fine certainly serves as a deterrent," said Frank Pattilo, principal of Montour High School.
Several administrators said they plan to keep an eye on the progress of Northgate's "honors bathroom" plan.
"I think it is a great idea," said Miale at Ringgold. "It's an honor, and it gives kids responsibility."
Staff writer Rhonda Miller contributed to this report.
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