The floor goes from carpet to exposed flooring, and in the rubble one student found a rusty scalpel. Still, Alicia Baker, a teacher in one of the classrooms, says the current condition is a definite improvement. Allowed to linger The seventh time Stiles Point Elementary's sewer system backed up into the kitchen's floor while cooks were preparing lunch, principal Stephen Burger got action. Next time, he was told, the maintenance shop would fix it. This is one of the most common problems in Charleston County schools.
Known problems fester like mold on a classroom wall.
No action is taken, either because the maintenance staff doesn't fix it, or the school board doesn't provide money. Principals across the district have their collections of horror stories to tell. When I came seven years ago, they told me the school needed a new roof. It is the same all across the county. When Baptist Hill High was converted from an elementary school, they didn't raise the toilets or the chalkboards.