Why this record exists
Parent and teacher concerns about safety, sanitation, and building conditions are being handled one at a time, behind closed doors — and often not handled at all. Teachers are afraid to speak up, and parents have no oversight inside the buildings their children spend their days in.
Teachers are accountable for test scores. Principals are accountable for their buildings. Parents are accountable for their children showing up ready to learn. Administration exists to support all of them — to keep the buildings safe, clean, and working so that everyone else can do their job.
That structure has broken down in Portage, and rebuilding it starts with an accurate public record. This project compiles those concerns into one shared record, so the community can address them together as a cohesive unit instead of one voice at a time.
This record documents
- Building and facility conditions at district schools
- Sanitation, plumbing, pests, and structural failures
- Heat, ventilation, and indoor air concerns
- Safety and traffic hazards affecting students and staff
- How long each condition has gone unaddressed
This record is not
- A place to raise concerns about an individual teacher, aide, administrator, or staff member
- A forum for personnel matters — those belong with the district
- A complaint board, or a place for disputes between families and staff
The one exception: where a person's conduct directly creates a safety or sanitation hazard. In that case, use the person's title, not their name.
How anonymity works
Reports from teachers and school employees collect no names, no emails, and no identifying information of any kind. On submission the system issues a one-time claim code, shown once and never linked to a person — it is the only way to mark that report resolved later. Uploaded photos and documents have their embedded location and device metadata removed before publication.
Parents may optionally include their name when submitting, because a named report can carry more weight. Naming yourself is never required.