CAMDEN  --  The scaffolding, teachers say, tells the story.

This temporary frame has surrounded the entrance of Camden High School all school year, holding up the school's facade as the inside crumbles: Graffiti is not just on the walls, but also on some ceilings, windows and floors. Drop ceilings have panels missing, allegedly because students kick them out for fun, and some bathrooms are missing paper towels and soap.

Beyond the deteriorating physical state of the 1,500-student high school, there are fewer teachers and security guards this year than last -- a fact that some staff members believe contributes to the recent violence.

A melee Dec. 14 ended in six arrests, arson forced an early dismissal Thursday and, so far this year, at least three teachers have been injured in altercations involving students, the district said.

Now, unusual steps are being taken to address the troubled school. During a 2 1/2-hour closed-door meeting Monday at the Camden High auditorium, more than 100 staff members told Superintendent Bessie LeFra Young and other district officials of their grievances.

(A reporter and community activist were barred from last week's meeting by district officials, citing "personnel" reasons.)

Young decided that when students return from the holiday break, they will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, 3 and 4 so teachers can attend sessions on professional development and restructuring the high school, according to the state Department of Education, which is monitoring the situation. Sessions will also be held on Saturdays in January and February.

"This is how they're going to get that quality time they need," district spokesman Bart Leff said. Since four hours of classes count as an official school day, students technically won't miss school, he said.

The issues now coming to the fore at Camden High have been brewing all school year, according to interviews with six teachers and substitutes, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Kenneth McIntosh, president of the teachers union, and Albert Driggins, head of the substitute teachers, said they had been briefed on or saw firsthand all of the issues described. Students and parents interviewed echoed similar complaints.

"We went there (Camden High) for information, and we're going to take the information that they have given us and try to come up with some solutions about whatever the problems are," Board President Sara Davis said after last week's meeting.

Many of the issues discussed were similar to the problems documented in a letter dated Nov. 15 that was drafted by some of the school's teachers, according to those at the meeting.

The letter, which was written on school district stationery, was not sent to the superintendent for fear of repercussions, teachers said, but it was faxed to the Courier-Post. It detailed these concerns:

• Basic needs (water, working lavatories, postage and Dumpsters).

• Safety issues (enforcement of the discipline code, IDs, reduction in security staff).

• Staffing issues (vacancies, lack of substitutes, coverages).

"These factors have contributed to the lack of morale amongst the staff of Camden High," the letter stated.

Basic Needs
While acknowledging that changes need to be made, the district denies certain allegations. For example, Leff said the faucets work and there's soap in all bathrooms.

But in one boys' bathroom visited by the Courier-Post last week, there was a hook for a soap canister but no canister or soap. In a faculty restroom, the hand dryer wasn't working and there were no paper towels.

Graffiti was all over the ceiling of one bathroom, and a mound of possible mold was growing in the corner.

Senior Jonathan Green, 17, called the school "a nasty environment for people to learn in."

He said the school tries to cover up the graffiti, which is usually written in marker and is mostly a testament to dead friends, lovers and Camden neighborhoods.

"They paint every day trying to take the graffiti off the walls," he said.

As in all Camden schools, the water fountains are not safe to drink from, so Leff said the district stations water tanks and cups throughout the building. But teachers said students still complain about being thirsty.

McIntosh explained that there was a shortage of water earlier this year, but the district responded and brought in more. Then, some students began knocking over tanks in the hallway.

"So that was the problem," McIntosh said.

"They're looking at now the placement of where the water will be so the students can drink it."

Beyond water, for part of this school year there also haven't been clocks or bells, and lockers have yet to be assigned to all students.

"Why don't kids have lockers at Camden High?" asked Driggins. "Why are they walking around carrying all their books and coats?"

Leff said at this point most lockers have been assigned.

Safety Issues
As for violence, Leff said three altercations this year required teachers to be sent to a medical clinic as a precaution. All were cleared to return to work.

The police specified two incidents involving injured teachers. On Sept. 25, a 16-year-old was charged with assault after he pushed a teacher to the wall and pulled her arm after she tried to take off his hat. And on Nov. 30, a teacher taken to the hospital after getting hit by a student opted not to press charges.

Driggins said one of his teachers requested a transfer after a student threatened to attack him outside of school.

"Discipline is out the window," said Driggins, who spent part of the year substituting at Camden High.

"Management gives you little or no help at this point. Right now, it is unsafe and dangerous."

There are 17 school law enforcement officers in the school now, Leff said, compared to more than 20 in previous years.

Teachers worry that the staff is so thin that it will take too long for an officer to get to them "if they're stuck in a room with a belligerent student," Driggins said. 

 Leff said the district wants more security personnel, "but it's a function of money. We believe that the number we have is sufficient for the building."

If security gets wind of something brewing in the community, they bring in reinforcements, Leff said. A city police officer also keeps a presence in the vicinity, and as a result loitering in the area is down, he said.

Amorilys Torres, 16, was injured along with two of her sisters during the most recent brawl at the school on Dec. 14. It began, witnesses said, when one student threw lotion on another. Others then got involved.

"This boy dragged me down the stairs by the hair," she said. "He was slamming me, kicking me, everything."

One of her sisters was knocked unconscious, but is now doing fine. The other now has blood in her urine. Their mother, Anna Rentas, has withdrawn all of them from school.

"I'm scared for them to be hurt more," she said.

"People don't care, and that's not right. The school has to do something, and they haven't done nothing."

Discipline has long been an issue at the school, with 42.7 percent of students suspended during the 2005-06 school year, according to state records.

This year's statistics are not available.

Union officials said that when violent incidents occur at the high school, it is particularly disconcerting because students don't have IDs anymore and that it difficult to identify them.

"You can't catch kids doing stuff," Driggins said.

Leff said the printer to make IDs is broken, but there are plans to bring back IDs in the new year.

Staffing Issues
Last month, substitutes staged an apparent sick-out to complain about the lack of teachers and substitutes.

Absentee rates for the faculty aren't available, but Driggins said there aren't enough substitutes to meet the demand for absent teachers.

He said teachers take off because they're worn out. "This is not for the faint of heart, at least not in this district," he said.

Added McIntosh: "If people don't feel that they are safe in the environment, then what do they do? They take off days."

And because there's also a lack of substitutes, teachers who are in school are forced to take on more classes than their contract allows or students are massed together in the auditorium, which Driggins said is a common practice.

The Dec. 14 melee began, for example, after classes without teachers were assigned to the auditorium. Torres, who was in the auditorium at the time, said there wasn't a security guard in the auditorium when the incident started.

The school is short one English and one math teacher, Leff said, and the board plans to fill those slots for the new year. He also said additional permanent substitutes had been brought in since September.

But there are also fewer vice principals this year than last, Leff said. The school board considered hiring a vice principal at its meeting last week, but tabled the vote.

Good Kids Lose Out
Teachers interviewed by the Courier-Post insisted that most students are good.

"The ones, again, who cause the problems are not the majority," McIntosh said.

"They cause havoc to disrupt the education of all the other individuals."

McIntosh suggests that the state, which has broad oversight powers in Camden, intervene.

"My personal problem is when does the state take ownership to any of these problems? They've been in the schools for a long time, and they've taken money out of this district," he said, adding that the state could help fund an expanded alternative program for troubled students.

The state is aware of the issues and working with the district, Department of Education spokesman Jon Zlock said.

As for the scaffolding that makes the school look like a construction site -- despite the fact that no construction is happening -- Davis also blamed the state, saying it needs to provide money so the school's facade can be fixed.

But since the state Schools Development Authority, which funds construction in poor school districts, put up the $130,000 scaffolding last summer, the school district hasn't made a formal request for the estimated $10 million repair job, according to Larry Hanover, SDA spokesman.

Leff said the district is in the process of hiring an engineering firm to draw up plans.

Meanwhile, Young, the superintendent, has said that part of the issue at Camden High is that it is adjusting to administrative change.

The principal, Michellea Graves, began working two days before the school year. She did not return an e-mail for this story.

"There have been ongoing changes, not just with the teaching staff but also the administration," Young said at a school board meeting last month. "It's taking a minute. . . . It's part of a process, but we're going to get there, so bear with us and support us."

This article appeared in the Courier-Post. Some photographs by Matt Katz, Al Schell and John Ziomek of the Courier-Post. Others provided by anonymous sources.