Who could’ve known school bathrooms were such a nightmare? Mensur Hadzic, for one. Arvada West High School’s facilities manager opens up about the rampant bathroom vandalism he is dealing with over the first six weeks of school and beyond.

Hadzic has had to deal with vandalism in bathrooms not only this semester but for the past couple of school years. Opening up on the issues he is facing currently, he shares, “The bathrooms are getting trashed, people are eating and disposing trash in urinals and toilets, there’s graffiti on the daily.”

While these may seem like small problems, Hadzic explains how much it would cost to fix all of these bathrooms, adding, “It depends really, a plumber costs 3,000 to 5,000 per trip.” On top of that, paint can cost an additional 3,000 to 5,000 for a single bathroom repaint. Take into account the large amount of restrooms in A-West, and the costs start piling up.

Additionally, at points the only bathrooms open have been in the west wing, leading to longer wait times and more missed class time for students.

With new damage being done seemingly every week, Hadzic looks to the students who might be harming the bathrooms, asking, “If you’ve been doing it [vandalizing the bathrooms] and honestly you didn’t get caught please stop.” While he understands that students may not know the consequences of their actions, he reiterates, “Most important is that whoever is doing it we need them to stop.”

Hadzic ends on a hopeful note, sharing, “I hope the kids that do it [vandalize the bathrooms] realize how much extra work and cost they are creating and how much more complicated it is to go to the bathroom.” For now, he will have to keep dealing with wrecked bathrooms and costly repairs.