Pennsylvania High School Imposes Toilet Paper Restrictions
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(MAHANOY CITY, Pa.) — A rash of vandalism in the boys’ bathrooms at Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania has prompted administrators to remove toilet paper from the lavatories and issue it on an as needed basis.
Any boy needing bathroom tissue must request it from the nurse or the main office and sign it out, and then sign it back in.
The website RepublicanHerald.com reports Principal Thomas Smith explained the reason for the rationing at a recent school board meeting, saying, “We’ve had serious destruction to our bathrooms for the past two years.”
Principal Smith told those in attendance, “We have a case pending with the police where a bathroom down by our gymnasium was absolutely destroyed. I’m sure our district facilities director could tell you the times that our toilets have been jammed with toilet paper and other papers. And after we took the toilet tissue out of there, people were throwing books. It was our way to try to curb the destruction in the bathrooms.”
However, some parents argue that the measure is extreme, and students are embarrassed to go to the office for toilet paper.
Smith noted that he could be swayed to wipe the slate clean and put the toilet paper back in the bathroom, but he warned, “If the bathroom is destroyed, it will be removed.”
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