Now two months into the school year, and still no outdoor bathrooms.The outdoor restroom facilities, which were previously set to be located to the right of the Band Booster concession stand and be up by spring of 2024 are still missing. With outdoor fall athletes, football and field hockey fans, and physical education students forced to use one of the five porta potties outside, atoms are wondering when they will finally be constructed. 

Fairfax County School Board approved that all schools which lacked outdoor restrooms would be provided with the funding to pay for them. Construction began the summer of 2023 where they installed the ‘base,’ which ran the restroom’s plumbing to the designated area. 

“Just this last week the Board of Education approved the final measure to install the bathrooms,” said Principal Shawn DeRose. “I don’t have a timeline on when that’s going to happen just yet but I’m hoping by the end of the year at the very latest,” he added. 

The major delay has created inconveniences much larger than athletes and fans not being able to use real bathrooms during games and practices. 

Not to mention, parents who need to change their children during school events are unable to in a porta potty, and they generally do not give a good appearance to our school.

Atoms wrestling coach and Health & P.E. teacher Cesar Lopez, comments on the struggles of not having outdoor restrooms when his students are outside.

“Guys and ladies during class don’t like going inside the porta potties. So unfortunately when we send them there they say no, or they say that they want to go to the clinic, and we can’t say no to that, so we send them to the clinic,” he said.

Not only does this cut down on their in-class participation time, but it gives students an easier opportunity to skip during class. 

“It would help my class a lot so that I can keep a visual on them when they leave and come back. Hopefully they can speed up the process,” said Lopez.

If FCPS does not begin outdoor bathroom construction soon, who knows if Annandale will ever be provided with them.