Boys' Bathrooms on Lockdown at North

The boys at North Middle School are learning the truth behind the saying, “A few bad apples can spoil the barrel.”

Recently, there’s been a rash of graffiti in the boys’ bathrooms at the school, and school administrators have decided to put those bathrooms on lockdown. On four separate occasions, North Principal Lynn Grimm said graffiti was discovered in a bathroom. Some of those incidents included what could be interpreted as threats and “inappropriate pictures.”

After each incident was discovered, Grimm said notifications were sent to parents.

“A couple could be interpreted as threatening,” Grimm said. “We’ve partnered with police and found the best solution for the safety of the school.”

Starting Wednesday, all the boys’ bathrooms were locked throughout the day. Male students must report to the health room where the bathrooms can be monitored easily. During lunch, boys will be escorted to the bathroom in groups of three, and will be  the bathroom will be checked after each use.

“We apologize for the inconvenience this will cause your child, but this graffiti must stop,” Grimm stated in a notification to parents.

Grimm told Patch that teachers had set up a schedule to check the bathrooms before they were placed on lockdown. Teachers and janitors checked bathrooms on the hour for new graffiti. However, those efforts still had not curbed the illegal artists from sharing their work. The solution to lock the bathrooms was reached in conjunction with the Menomonee Falls Police Department.

The district is working collaboratively with the MFPD to investigate and prevent incidents like this from happening again. Next week, all students will participate in an educational homeroom activity to raise student awareness about the problem and its consequences.

“I truly believe that the feedback from the community at North supports that we are doing the right thing,” Grimm said. “Parent support has been wonderful.”

Grimm said the Parent Teacher Student Association would discuss placing more volunteers in the schools to monitor misbehavior in the schools, and check for graffiti.

There is also a reward out for identifying the individuals who were involved in the four incidents. If you have information about the incidents, call the MFPD at 532-8700, or Grimm at 255-8481.