Dunbar High School Facilities Under Par

McKinkley High School, profiled in the last post, is in the far northeast corner of 5C-02. In the far southeastern corner of the district is Dunbar High School.

Dunbar's very successful football team will be highlighted on national television next month, but this morning's Washington Post reports that members of the team

worry that the school in the District's Shaw neighborhood will become a national disgrace should the telecast highlight conditions that athletes confront daily: The running track that encircles the football field has been condemned because of potholes. The carpet in the locker room is tattered and the showers moldy. The secondhand equipment in the weight room is rusty; the floor tiles are cracked and the benches so ripped that nearly as much foam padding as black vinyl cover is showing.

D.C. School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey has released a $2.3 billion plan for renovating school buildings and academics, but the help will not arrive at Dunbar until 2011. Naturally, students and parents want the renovations to begin right away.

Not only is the track team dodging potholes (the track has been condemned for meet use, but is still used for practice), but the Post reports that

Kierra Roulhac, 16, co-captain of the girls' track team, said the showers are so nasty that students refuse to use them. After physical education class or an early morning practice, most students opt to go to class without showering.

Last year, she said, 10 of the girls on the track team would shower at the nearby home of a teammate's grandmother. But the girl graduated, and the team is looking for another place to shower. Until then, Roulhac said, "I'll just spray perfume on myself."

Several residents in the neighborhood have stated that they want Dunbar to open the track to residents and local children. In addition to safety concerns, the following may be some reasons why the school has locked the facility:

A chain-link fence surrounding the field has had numerous holes cut through it, allowing trespassers to enter at night. Sometimes, Gordon said, students find dog feces on the field, used condoms in the stands and broken glass on the track. Over the years, thieves made off with parts from the public-address system and several rows of metal bleachers.

By the way, how much is Superintendent Janey earning to combat this dilapidation? From the Washington Times, March 2006:

D.C. schools Superintendent Clifford B. Janey is the highest-paid school official in fiscal 2006, with a base salary of $250,000, not including a performance bonus last year of $25,000.

(Photo Credit: Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)