A scanner shortage is forcing students to wait outside in long lines before entering the Lehman campus building each morning. The campus isn’t alone: A scanning shortage throughout New York City schools is forcing students across all five boroughs to line up and wait.
In fact, one reason Lehman has a scanner shortage is it had to “loan’’ one of its three scanners to another school. So now the school only has two scanners for more than 3,000 students. Replacing the missing scanner is expensive. Douglas Cruz, one of the school’s safety agents, said, “An X-ray machine is about $14,000, and a scanning arch is $7,000. It would cost a total of $21,000 to open up another scanning line.”
The wait is especially daunting for students who are running late. For example, let’s say you wake up late and have to take the late bus. When you get to school, it’s 8:30 a.m. It’s cold outside, school started 15 minutes ago and you want to get to class as soon as possible. As you walk up the stairs to the school’s terrace, you see a long line that nearly reaches the stairs. Students are skipping each other, finding their friends in the line to cut past at least 20 waiting students.
Then you hear that one of the two scanners shut down, so the wait will be even longer. Students are angry, some are calling their parents saying they want to go back home and all you can do is wait.
Showing up early can help. Bronx River starts at 8:15 a.m., and the gates open at 7:30 a.m.
Principal Greg Fucheck suggests students show up at 7:45 a.m. to 8 a.m. due to the wait. “At around 8:12 the line starts to pile up,” he said.
Jason Maass, the campus manager in charge of school safety, believes students should hold themselves responsible during the scanning process. “They should take off their belts, take off their coats, and put everything in their bags,” he said.
He added that most students who wear coats with metal labels hold up scanning since they don’t take their coats off.
Lehman campus has had issues with getting into the school efficiently due to a shortage of scanners and safety agents. During a School Leadership Team meeting in October, Mr. Fucheck said, “Lehman campus is full of 3,000 plus students with only two available scanners. In May of 2024, a school wanting to start scanners ‘borrowed’ one of Lehmans, and we still have not received it back.”
Mr. Maass added, ”Although we request more agents and equipment, we still are not getting any.”
