Sullivan East High School Students to use BMS Skyboxes

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http://www.bristolnews.com/news/MGB0AZ2A17D.html

BMS manager offers skyboxes as temporary classrooms for mold-displaced

students

The skyboxes at Bristol Motor Speedway could become temporary classrooms for

students of mold-plagued Sullivan East High School if the school system

accepts an offer from BMS General Manager Jeff Byrd.

by RICK WAGNER

Bristol Herald Courier

Oct 8, 2002

Lynn , a Spanish instructor at Sullivan East High School, and

junior Riley Hodges carry teaching supplies and belongings out of Sullivan

East Monday morning before the building is closed in order to remove mold

from many of the classrooms.

( )

The skyboxes at Bristol Motor Speedway could become temporary classrooms for

students of mold-plagued Sullivan East High School if the school system

accepts an offer from BMS General Manager Jeff Byrd.

County school officials are scheduled to tour BMS at 9 a.m. today, Byrd

said Monday afternoon. There are 121 skyboxes available at BMS and Bristol

Dragway, he added.

However, Assistant Schools Director Glenn Arwood Monday would say only

that various options are being considered for the temporary relocation of

about 1,000 East students while the school is closed for mold removal. He

said it is too early to address relocation options publicly until more

information is gathered. A Board of Education meeting will be called soon,

he said.

School officials announced Friday afternoon the decision to close East

until further notice for mold remediation after test results showed that

black mold or Stachybotrys was in the ceiling tile of five of nine rooms

tested.

They said that under-insulated pipes carrying chilled water to cool the

school caused condensation, which dripped on ceiling tile and created

conditions for the mold to grow.

Mold in general can cause allergic reactions, and black mold has been

linked to everything from respiratory problems and sinus infections to

diarrhea, headaches and even infant deaths.

" I called (County Executive) Venable after church yesterday and

offered the speedway as an alternative to having the kids sit out " the

school closure, Byrd said.

" We've done a lot of differing things with East High, and a lot of our

employees have kids there, " Byrd said of the school, which is about six

miles from the speedway. " Offering the speedway to them was the right thing

to do, the Christian thing to do. We would do the same thing for Central

(High) or Tennessee High. "

Officials also said that they have no cost estimates for the emergency

remediation after contractors toured the school Monday with Maintenance

Supervisor Joe Mike Akard and county Purchasing Agent Nelda Hulse.

Akard said that Blountville-based S & ME Engineering Testing Environmental

Services will take care of further mold testing today and Wednesday, while

demolition contractor E. Luke Greene of Strawberry Plains will probably

start Thursday.

He said that HVAC Inc. of Bristol Tennessee will do any repairs to the

chiller system, Ellis Insulation of ton will reinsulate the chiller

pipes, and Mullins Insulation of Kingsport will install new ceiling tile and

insulation behind them.

As the contractors toured the building Monday, students and teachers

retrieved textbooks and other items from the school, which will be sealed

off later this week.

Akard said that teachers should remove items from their classrooms by

noon today or Wednesday afternoon. As of Thursday morning, non-essential

paper items with potential mold contamination likely will be thrown away if

not picked up, he added.

Teachers and students speculated Monday on where the school might be

relocated, including having staggered classes with Sullivan Central High or

other county schools.

" I'm taking enough (teaching) materials so I will have what I need to

keep our kids where they should be academically, " said , a

physical science teacher who teaches freshmen through seniors.

said she'd like to keep the student body at one location and

added that the American Phoenix building, the old Raytheon plant, might be a

good location.

" We're just shell-shocked right now. It's like dealing with a fire or

disaster, " said. " I do have some mold spores on my ceiling tile. There

were mold spores on my wall. "

Of the nine rooms tested with swabs, C-32, A-22, C11, G-14 and G-2 had

black mold, which Akard said is dangerous only if it dries and become

airborne. Airborne tests from those classrooms may be back by Friday, and he

said another round of airborne tests on the rest of the building will be

done today and Wednesday. It takes about two weeks to get results, he said.

Another teacher who was moving items from the school Monday was Judy

, who said she has taught at East since it opened in 1968. said

she is confident that school officials will find a suitable temporary

location for the whole school instead of splitting up the students.

" The students are coming in with the attitude of let's get going, " said

, recalling a fire a few years ago that idled the school for about a

week. " We bounced back after we had that fire. "

Also retrieving books was 15-year-old sophomore Olegario, the

grand-daughter of Gil Hodges, former county executive.

" She's been having headaches and a problem breathing. We've got her a

doctors' appointment Monday, " Hodges said. " The most important thing now is

to get them in class and not get behind. "

Christy Simcox and Sommer Rosenbalm, both 16-year-old 11th-graders from

Bluff City, said they believe that holding East classes at Bluff City Middle

School is an option. They spoke from the art classroom, C-32, that officials

said likely will have to be gutted of more than 20 years worth of ceiling

tile painted by past and present art students.

" This room (C-32) is the highest (mold) concentration of any of them, "

Akard said.

Faith ston, a 17-year-old senior from Piney Flats, and her mother

took photographs of the tile in case they are destroyed, which Akard said is

likely.

The senior said that she and her sister have health problems that may be

related to the mold.

" We've both had upper respiratory problems, " Faith ston said of

herself and her 15-year-old sister, Jannette. " If we were forced to go to

another school, I'd prefer to go to Central. "

Rick Wagner may be reached at rwagner@... or (276) 645-2518.