The collapse of a Maryland high school’s bleachers was due at least in part to the failure of school employees to install removable guardrails, a state investigation has concluded.
The Maryland Occupational Safety and Health office last week cited the Charles County school system for not instructing its employees in the proper use of the bleachers at the Charles J. McDonough High School. (See Education Week, Sept. 21, 1988).
The agency described the Sept. 9 collapse--which injured 83 students--as “serious” and said it would have fined the school system $640 if government agencies were not exempt from such fines.
If employees had tried to install the rails, state officials said, they would have discovered that the bleachers were misaligned.