SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A local school district board member
has filed a complaint with the state saying Santa Maria Bonita School District
buildings aren't safe.
Santa Maria Bonita
School District board member Will Smith filed a complaint under the Williams
Act. The act requires schools to be clean, safe and maintained in good condition
and this board member says Santa Maria Bonita School District is in violation of
that.
"They are in
denial," says Smith as he pours over Department of State Architecture documents,
he says proves some Santa Maria Bonita School District buildings don't comply
with safety standards.
"The roofs on our
gymnasiums are stressed also the two story buildings are not properly anchored
down with a lot of other deficiencies," says Smith.
His complaint says
newly-constructed buildings in schools like El Camino Junior High and Liberty
and Sanchez Elementary have not been certified and pose a threat to students and
staff.
But El Camino Junior
High School Principal Ann Orton disagrees.
"There aren't any concerns about the safety of the
buildings here," says Orton. "We know that our maintenance people have been
through. All of our buildings have been found without fault."
The Santa Maria Bonita
School District declined to comment on camera but a spokesperson says Smith's
complaint doesn't fall under the Williams Act guidelines and that the Santa
Barbara County Board of Education agrees with the school district.
The California
Department of Education says they can't comment on the on-going investigation
but will release updates once its ruling is made final.
Orton says part of the
reason the buildings haven't been certified is because there is backlog at the
state level.
"El Camino is
perfectly safe for students that are here," says Orton."Otherwise, I would put
them in those buildings."
