Out-of-service toilets tick off parents

LITTLE VALLEY, N.Y. (WIVB) - Parents are questioning whether the district should have notified them and possibly canceled classes when toilets at the Cattaraugus-Little Valley Elementary School stopped working on Tuesday.

Some, but not all, of the restrooms were closed and not working Tuesday as toilets overflowed due to pressure build up. Parents were horrified over the stories their children had to tell over what they endured.

Kevin Whited said, "Why were they subjected to not having to go to the bathroom and having to deal with overflowing toilets and messes that couldn't be cleaned up? I mean, it's ridiculous."

Miranda Kendrick and Whited expressed their frustration and angst after their children came home from school on Tuesday very upset.

Kendrick said, "I mean, as a parent you send your child to school expecting them to be safe and well cared for, and for them not to be able to use the restroom for an entire school day is ridiculous."

The troubled toilets were only at the elementary school. Because water pressure was so high, News 4 is told that with each flush, the toilets would actually overflow, putting them out of service.

Superintendent of Schools Jon Peterson denies that children were forbidden from using the bathrooms, considering some did remain in service.

"We just dealt with the issue. Kids were permitted to use the bathroom. Kids were given alternative locations to go where the bathroom wasn't functioning. So at the time, was it a big deal? To me, it didn't seem that big of a deal," Peterson said.

But Kendrick says it's a big enough deal that school should have been canceled.

"For them to let this go on for an entire day is unacceptable," she argued.

The problem was fixed late Tuesday and the superintendent says there wasn't much they could do, considering their water comes from the village.