Clovis Unified parent's concerned with lack of lockers

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Some parents and students in Clovis Unified are concerned about the lack of lockers. They say kids have to carry around heavy books all day and the weight adds up to neck and back pain.

Zoe Lussi is a registered nurse and a mother of a seventh grader at Granite Ridge Intermediate School in Clovis. She's concerned about the long-term effects lugging around a heavy backpack could have on her child's health.

Lussi said, "I have a friend whose daughter has been coming here for three years and she already has some severe neck and back injuries from carrying this type of weight."

Clovis Unified says it offers laptop programs, online resources and lockers for PE and Band to reduce the load on students.

In a statement, District Spokesperson Kelly Avants said, "We have found that, over time, there are sufficient textbook alternatives now available to students to outweigh the safety, vandalism, theft and other risks present with campus lockers."

One chiropractor we spoke with says part of the problem is the way kids are wearing their backpacks.

"You're gonna want a smaller backpack for a smaller child and then you're gonna want to make sure it's cinched tightly and wear it high on your back," said Dr. Stone Beck.

While Lussi agrees with all of the safety steps she still believes lockers would help. "It would be wonderful to bring them back and have kids experience high school the way we did, you know, with lockers."

Clovis is one of many school districts in California and around the nation moving away from providing students with outdoor lockers.

Many campuses built within the last decade don't include lockers because schools found too many students are storing inappropriate content inside them.

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clovis unified school district, education, linda mumma

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