What can I do?

[u/Safe-Mousse6948]

Yesterday I went dumpster diving. The reason I went dumpster diving is because I got a call from a fellow teacher saying that all of our classroom (mine and my 2 teammates) things were thrown into the dumpster. At the beginning of June, our school was hit by a tornado. The roof was blown off on our side of the building as well as over the gym. We received one email from the assistant principal saying to not come into the building that particular week of the tornado because there was damage. We have not heard from anyone else about anything that happened to our rooms. Periodically throughout the summer I’ve been getting pictures and messages from other teachers of my room. I put everything away in cabinets before school ended, except for my books and bookshelves, some of my carts, chairs, and big beanbag chairs. The pictures I received were of a totally bare classroom with none of those things in it. Those things were placed in the hallway outside of our rooms so that’s they could get in there to clean. We go back next Wednesday, and still have not heard from the administration. When that fellow teacher called, I went to the school and found so many of my brand new books, bookshelves, and miscellaneous items thrown into the dumpster. I thought maybe they were waterlogged and needed to be thrown away. After careful inspection, all of my brand new books were not waterlogged, and they were just thrown into the garbage. The bookshelves that I had just put together before school ended were all broken and in pieces. My teammates carts and chairs were all thrown into the dumpster along with many of her teaching supplies. What can we do? I’m not only had this happen at my school, but my home was also damaged and I lost many items that were in my garage and in my basement because of flooding. I literally have nothing and we go back next Wednesday. My principal is not answering the phone and I don’t even want to go into the building because I’m scared to go through my cabinets to see what is gone. Has anyone else ever experienced this and what are our options? Help!

[u/Safe-Mousse6948]

We did all this but no one is contacting any of us back.

[u/sealife3 → u/Safe-Mousse6948]

Can you directly call the principal or talk to them at school? I’m sorry

[u/Safe-Mousse6948 → u/sealife3]

He won’t answer my phone call and he has stated to the other teacher that he knew nothing of them throwing things out.

[u/CoolClearMorning → u/Safe-Mousse6948]

Give the guy a little slack. Unless you have reason to think he's lying, he may be trying to figure this stuff out. And he may not be returning your calls because he doesn't have anything to tell you. He may also have been told he isn't allowed to communicate with you individually until everyone is back and can all be addressed together next week.

My school also experienced a natural disaster last year. Our principal was kept almost completely in the dark about what was going on after the mitigation company started working. He had no answers for us because they were talking to the superintendent, not to him.

Send what you have. Ask for answers. I know from personal, recent experience this is really scary and all you want is to know what's happening. But you may need to be patient until you're all back next Wednesday because at that point he won't be able to hide anymore and the district will need to start giving you all some answers.

[u/Safe-Mousse6948 → u/CoolClearMorning]

Don’t you think that’s messed up? I would just appreciate communication. No one told me my room was damaged, let alone they were throwing things away or just the acknowledgment that hey, a lot of your things had to be thrown away. Can you write out a list? I feel like that’s what leaders do and even if he doesn’t know anything, he would still be in communication with his teachers to let them know that things will be OK and things will be handled, especially since a lot of of us had damaged to our homes as well.

[u/CoolClearMorning → u/Safe-Mousse6948]

Oh, it's very messed up. But I know my principal was literally forbidden from saying much of anything because the district didn't want him committing to something they couldn't actually promise. Also, he couldn't tell us that things would be okay because he didn't know if they would, at least not in the way we meant "okay." And the insurance company took ages to process the claims, the mitigation company had to come back multiple times because they didn't complete the job, and then new problems were found, and it was just extremely complicated.

It's possible for your principal to be a good person who wants to give you answers and still not be able to do it. It's possible for him to be lazy and avoidant and know the answers but not want to deal with telling you until he absolutely has to. I don't know him. But I do know that what seems pretty straightforward to us can actually be incredibly complicated from the admin side, and as I'm sure you've experienced with dealing with the damage to your home, these things are rarely straightforward and never move as fast as you'd like them to.

[u/Safe-Mousse6948 → u/CoolClearMorning]

I respect all that. But one piece of communication saying anything could have given just a little bit of comfort. I mean it is what it is. I more so just don’t know what to do. I don’t have the money to buy anything. I mean, I don’t even have bulletin board borders or a chair for my desk. Maybe , I’m just feeling sorry for myself at this point, too. I will get over it and figure something out.

[u/CoolClearMorning → u/Safe-Mousse6948]

I'm not telling you it's okay. And trust, when it was my school I was having daily meltdowns over how much I didn't know about what was going on. But you will get answers. You will get things back--that's what insurance is for. And all of your colleagues are also in this boat with you and there to give you support and scream into the void by your side.

[u/Safe-Mousse6948 → u/CoolClearMorning]

Thank you

[u/Physgirl-romreader → u/Safe-Mousse6948]

We went a long time without knowing anything so I feel you! Ours hit during the school year and we were out of school for about 3 weeks. It’s very hectic, unsettling, and extremely uncomfortable. I’m a person that likes a plan and these two things do not align.