'You should feel safe:' Culver City HS students say campus building is in disrepair

CULVER CITY, Calif. (KABC) -- Culver City High School students are raising concerns about the state of their school's campus, saying the building is falling apart.

Some students said tiles are falling from the ceiling and walkways are cracked.

"You go to school and you shouldn't feel like your safety is a big issue," said Hailey Gomberg, a student who spoke with Eyewitness News on Friday. "You should feel safe, you should feel welcome."

Gomberg said she acknowledges the risk of going public with her concerns, but said she feels she had to. She said there are old staircases, which are a problem for those with disabilities.

"We think that there could be asbestos as the school was built in the '50s and they found asbestos in our auditorium," she said. "I've seen a student with a walker, trying to go up the staircases that have no other entrance aside from staircases. It's really disheartening to watch."

An inspection report by the county health department from a month ago found a number of issues. Among the violations, the report mentions the damaged and missing ceiling tiles as well as cockroaches and vermin.

"I have lots of classrooms with rats, and for the cheerleaders, the roaches kind of just live in our cheer mats and it's super gross," said student Liv Bell.

But some say it's not entirely the school's fault.

"Some of the students are often doing trends on Tik Tok, tossing. throwing things up at the ceiling for them to come down," said student Joshua Jones.

Some also complained about overcrowding and said they've gone to the district with all these issues but so far, they feel they're being ignored.

Eyewitness News reached out to the Culver City Unified School District for a comment but has not heard back.