School Elevator Troubles Tough on Some Broward Students

A wheelchair-bound high school student interviewed by the South Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper in a story picked up by NNY360 in Broward County, Florida, says he desperately needs a working elevator so he can reach his third-floor classes, but often finds the school’s elevator out of order, the source reports. “The elevator constantly breaks down, meaning it won’t work or won’t close properly,” he told the newspaper. “I have to push it closed. Throughout my high school years, when the elevator is broken, I have to wait for people to help me down all the floors, which is highly frustrating.” A check into Pompano Beach High School finds that the elevator’s last inspection was in May 2018, with an expiration date of August 2019 — nearly three years ago. The situation is common in Broward County, with two-thirds of school elevators — 162 out of 236 — failing to obtain certificates of occupancy. In fact, a number of the district’s 71 wheelchair lifts are in disrepair. Many of Broward County’s schools’ elevators — 39%, or 28 total at recent counting — were inoperable. A county school official says the district is working with its elevator maintenance contractors to make corrections and expects all elevators to be up to date by August.