To comply with a state mandate and further enhance safety measures, the names of all buildings on campus will change. Assistant Principal Ron Dentinger has taken initiative to follow the instructions, and these changes will soon be implemented on campus.
“The building names have to go clockwise starting with whatever is considered the main building,” Dentinger said. “The doors themselves within each building determine which is the primary door.”
Probing into the law, the mandate is under the Commissioner’s Rules Concerning School Facilities 61.CC May 23rd. Subsection C1 states “The primary entrance of an instructional facility shall always be the first in the entire sequence and is the only door location that does not require numbering. The numbering sequence shall be clockwise and may be sequenced for the entire campus or for each facility individually. The door-numbering process must comply with any and all accessibility requirements related to signage.” The two subsections can be equated to the current modification being made.
“I feel that it’s a dumb state law and I feel there’s more important things the state should be worried about,” Lauren Mendez, a senior, said.
As the school prepares for these changes, there is an understanding that the safety and well-being of students and staff are of importance. The upcoming adjustments will smoothen emergency response procedures and provide a safer environment for the entirety of the school.
“The changes will not affect me majorly, but they will make things confusing for a little while,” Asher Frierson, a junior, said.
These adjustments will take place either next semester or the following school year, and the assignment of door numbers at the moment has no finalizing date. Dentinger himself was only informed of the impending changes at the start of the fourth week of school.
“They’ve [the state] let us know literally at the beginning of this week,” Dentinger said. “We said we need a minimum of a semester, if not next year.”
Acknowledging the potential for confusion among students during the transition, administration is fully aware of the challenges and is committed to minimizing disruptions. For the remainder of the current semester, building names will remain unchanged.
