TULSA, Okla. — A downtown Tulsa middle school says enough is enough. They say graffiti, trash, and drug paraphernalia are surrounding their property and they want a permanent fix.
2 News first brought you the story last August, the principal at Sankofa Middle School says the problems are still around.
“That’s the reason why I call you guys, because it’s a continued thing that it’s irritating,” said Principal Eric Mikel. "It really gets irritating to keep having to deal with this.”
The sound of students playing inside Sankofa Middle School is unmistakable. It’s everything from hula hoops to footballs. The space inside the school’s red room isn’t very big but it’s a necessity for now.
“We’re just really limited,” said Mikel.
Prinicipal Eric Mikel says a lot of their outdoor activities moved indoors because of trash, empty beer cans, graffiti and what he calls a hangout spot for the homeless.
“I can’t chance those kids seeing what’s going on here,” said Mikel. “They do their drugs. They do all of that in here.”
Mikel says he’d love to be able to use some of the outdoor space surrounding the school for his students, but he says with the problems they’re seeing it’s just not possible.
“It’s just a constant problem that we’re having to deal with,” said Mikel.
Last August, 2 News Anchor Naomi Keitt first covered this issue talking with the principal of Deborah Brown Community School next door.
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School leaders say the area was cleaned up after that but in just a short time, they started having issues again. Mikel would like to see a permanent fix.
“The school would like to clean this up, fence it off all the way down just over to that wooden fence there, and lock it up where they can’t get in here,” said Mikel.
He says that fix would be safer for his students and they can focus solely on their education.
“Focus on teaching them, making them great young men and women and help them to learn,” said Mikel.
The city says in most cases property owners can fence in their space. Since the school doesn’t own the property we asked if the city does. A city spokesperson said they’re working to get clarification on ownership.
Here is the statement the City of Tulsa sent us:
When it comes to addressing homelessness, the City currently has more than 50 programs and strategies in place, and we’re incredibly eager for some impactful services to make an impact as part of our newly announced Path to Home initiative, such as our Emergency Temporary Housing program, the opening of our Residential Care Center, and additional funding that has allowed our Tulsa Fire Department to expand its alternative response teams.
Specific to this area, which is located next to a railroad, one of the Path to Home recommendations was Private Right-of-Way enforcement, which has since been allowed to move forward due to signed letters from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, WATCO, Union Pacific, and BNSF. Those letters allow the City to enforce trespassing laws related to camping, sleeping, littering/dumping on private rights-of-way.
As is the case with any other similar circumstances in the City, we encourage anyone having safety concerns near their business or school to report them to the Tulsa Police Department. More general questions and concerns about housing and homelessness can be directed to housing@cityoftulsa.org.
