Sackville school takes down washroom doors to combat vandalism and vaping | CBC News

Parents have been sharing their outrage on social media about the decision, citing privacy concerns for students. 

“My daughter contacted me Tuesday morning,” said Cheryl Colbert-Quintal, who has a daughter at the school. “They got there this morning and the doors had been taken off with no notice to the kids.”  

CBC News requested an interview with the principal of Tantramar, but was told she wasn’t available. A statement was provided via email from Stephanie Patterson, the communications director for the Anglophone East School District. 

“Due to ongoing and previously addressed excessive vandalism (damage to/removal of soap dispensers, paper towel dispensers and toilet paper holders, along with stolen items) and illicit activity (vaping), the doors to the entrance of the multi-stall washrooms at TRHS have been removed,” said Patterson. 

Patterson said the school and district are open to other suggestions. 

Colbert-Quintal’s daughter, Madyson Colbert, went to the principal’s office with a group of students on Tuesday to ask about the doors being removed. 

“I told [the principal] it was an invasion of privacy,” said Colbert.

The interaction escalated and led to some of the students being suspended, including Colbert, she said. 

The group of students left the school to make posters and came back to protest. Colbert said the school called the police, complaining the students were violating their school suspension by being on school property. 

Now, the ninth grader doesn’t know if she wants to go back to school because of the discomfort she would feel using the washrooms.The idea of teachers being able to see directly into the washrooms makes her uncomfortable. 

“If I need to use the washroom, where am I going to go?” Colbert said. 

Finding solutions to school washroom delinquency

Tantramar isn’t the first school in Canada to resort to removing washroom doors to curb anti-social behaviour. 

A high school in Ottawa made the same decision in an effort to stop students from vaping and smoking inside washrooms. 

Colbert said she has heard about vandalism happening in boys’ washrooms and has witnessed students vaping in washrooms. 

Colbert-Quintal said there are other ways the school could deal with these issues, such as having hall monitors complete washroom checks or giving out washroom passes. 

According to her daughter, there are no hall monitors at the school. 

“[Parents] never knew this was such a big issue until today,” the mother said. “Had they approached us, we would have given them ideas.”