Students at South Oak Cliff High School demanded Dallas Independent School District trustees temporarily remove them from the aging facility in order to allow for a major renovation.
"Leaks have gotten so bad that we've upgraded from buckets to trash cans. These problems have drained our students and staff to the max and enough is enough," said senior David Johnson.
Johnson led a large group of students who walked out in protest of the school's condition last year.
The district has spent more than $3 million to make immediate repairs to the 64-year-old facility, but students said they've lost their patience.
"We're kind of fed up, to be honest. We've been neglected for so long, I honestly don't feel like the district takes us seriously," said senior Gianni Alexander, the school's valedictorian. "I'm pretty sure kids will make that sacrifice – that one year sacrifice, two years, whatever it takes – so students of another generation can come and go to a good school."
The issues facing the Marsalis Avenue campus have been well documented. The roof leaks, classrooms are too hot or too cold, and ceiling tiles are crumbling. The district plans to spend nearly $11 million in voter-approved bond funds to make repairs, but that won't cover all of the school's needs.
For that reason, some of the school's alumni took the students' request a step further.
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"Bulldoze the whole school and build a totally new one," said Reginald Hill, a 1983 graduate. "It will be good for us. It will be good for the community. It will be good for Oak Cliff."
Next month trustees will vote to distribute more than half of the $1.6 million in bond funding. The group has the flexibility to allocate more money to South Oak Cliff High School.
