TUCSON, Ariz. -- Lack of toilet paper, soap, and cleanliness on school grounds will be a thing of the past, according to the Tucson Unified School District Board members.
The district and parents say cleanliness has been an issue for quite some time.
However, TUSD’s Chief Operations Officer, John Muir, says they’ve cleaned up their act.
“We’ve been waxing over dirt for years…” he said during the virtual meeting.
He assured clean-up efforts were well underway.
“We’ve got very detailed information at each and every one of our sites so that we would be ready,” he added.
‘Before and after’ pictures highlight the work that’s being done in schools across the district.
Installing automatic soap dispensers, paper towel dispensers, and sealed toilet paper dispensers that you can pull are all part of the effort.
Schools will also provide what Muir calls the ‘Big Five.’
“That’s toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, mask, face shields, hand sanitizer, and gloves,” said Muir.
TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo says being full stocked and clean will be the new normal.
“I don’t want to hear any instances of no soap, no hand sanitizer, no paper towels, no toilet paper, and no feminine hygiene products,” Dr. Trujillo added.
Which is why they have also added more custodial staff -- at least two per site.
By the time in-person classes start, Superintendent Dr. Trujillo says free mass testing sites for students and teachers will also be in place.
“If they are now demonstrating symptoms, now we;ve got these mass testing sites that will be up and running and able to get them tested,” he said in the meeting.
Overall Dr. Trujillo says there’s a $13.5M price tag attached to the upcoming TUSD school year.
“The million dollars in extra monitors, custodial staff, the almost one million dollar price tag for instruction software, our bill for devices,” he said.
Fall sports will also be delayed indefinitely, due to safety reasons.
This model is still fluid, but Dr. Trujillo is confident this one will maximize student and staff safety.
“I think this is going to be a good system going forward,” he said.
The board is set to meet August 11 to decide whether or not they will delay the in-person start date.
