For the past three weeks, renovations have been in progress in upstairs C hall boys restroom.

“Stall doors were busted off of the hinges, ceiling tiles were knocked out so wires were exposed in the ceiling and pipes were kicked in,” Coppell High School AP English teacher Linda Moore said. “So at that point, it became a safety issue and they had to close [the upstairs C hall boys bathroom] to fix it.”

The broken stall doors, locks and urinals are undergoing repairs so that the restroom can be opened back up for student use.

“Guys would just go in that bathroom and basically start a mosh pit,” Coppell High School junior Drew Cerniglia said. “I saw a guy charge into a stall door until it actually snapped off of the hinges. I guess all of this happens in this bathroom only. Crazy.”

Student-inflicted damage on school property is not unheard of at high schools, so hearing about vandalism in a boys bathroom may not come as much of a shock.

However, damages will affect what the district budget is used for and how foot traffic flows in the halls of CHS. Many students already worry about the crowdedness of halls, stairways and bathrooms, and having one less operable boys restroom can only contribute to the age-old campus problem of overcrowding.

“Unfortunately, it’s probably the work of only a few people and it ruins it for the rest,” assistant principal Nick Coenraad said. “When this sort of thing happens we have to pay even more money to fix it.”

In the spring of 2016, Coppell voters approved a bond package to fund various renovations around CHS and CHS9. A large sum of money was spent in order to update parts of CHS such as the restrooms, gyms and fieldhouse.

“Every one of us who lives in Coppell are paying for it and are supporting the renovating and remodeling of our old building,” Coenraad said. “It’s sad that these parents are approving and paying for these renovations and some of their kids are just putting it to waste by damaging it.”

The CHS campus was built in 1989 and because it is one of the older schools in Coppell, it has become necessary at times to remodel and update the building in order to maintain structural integrity and a safe, clean environment for students and staff.

Due to the vandalism that occured in the bathroom, CISD will have to borrow more money in order to repair the damages, according to Coenraad.

The upstairs C hall boys bathroom will be closed and labeled as “out of order” until further notice as it undergoes repairs over the course of the next week or so.