Mold, air quality not problems in Nazareth Area School District

[Guest guest]

http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-3/10401196632302

0.xml

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

Mold, air quality not problems in Nazareth Area School District

By BRIAN SHAPPELL

The Express-Times

U. NAZARETH TWP. -- Air quality and mold are not problems in Nazareth Area

School District buildings, according to Superintendent Victor Lesky.

Lesky presented a report Monday -- prepared by 1 Source Safety and Health

Inc. -- which says there are " no immediate health issues suggested by the

results. "

The district hired 1 Source to perform indoor surveys at its schools between

Oct. 15 and Oct. 21. The company tested for temperatures, airborne fungal

concentrations, airborne chemicals and microbiological agents.

The report did say further investigation was necessary to address a " low

concentration " of fungal growth in a Nazareth High School classroom, likely

caused by an abundance of moisture underneath the floor tiles.

School officials said they have to err on the side of caution because of a

history of problems at Nazareth Area schools.

" Mold is going to grow everywhere, " Lesky said. " It's the idea that you take

care of it when it does appear. That's where we failed in 1997. "

In 1997, 1,800 students in Nazareth Area's high school and middle school

started school three weeks late when the discovery of fungus and mold in the

buildings required massive repairs. The district's elementary students

waited three days for school to begin after Shafer Elementary School failed

a state inspection just before opening day.

Fungus cleanup efforts closed down the high school for seven months and cost

more than $4 million, although the district's insurance company paid $2.8

million for the cleanup.

Also Monday, the school board ratified a contract with the Nazareth Area

Educational Support Personnel Association. The contract, which covers 123

support staffers, calls for an average pay raise of 2.7 percent for

first-year employees and a 3 percent for each year thereafter, according to

association President Debra Maher.

The contract runs retroactively from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2006.

Support personnel include secretaries, associate teachers, associate nurses,

library assistants, instruction/clerical assistants, hall/cafeteria monitors

and food service workers. The employees have been working under the terms of

the previous contract since July 1, Maher said.

Maher said the primary sticking point was salary provisions.

" They started out with a (salary) freeze, " she said. " We had to struggle

back from that. "

Association members voted 55- 29 Monday afternoon to accept the terms,

according to Maher. Maher said many were unhappy the salary increase

percentage was not equal to the percentage in the association's first

contract, ratified after the group formed in 1998.

Maher said association members received additional benefits in the new

contract. Those benefits include college tuition reimbursement for select

staffers, two additional paid holidays per year and a provision for

employees without full-time health care to acquire emergency coverage by

paying the school the group rate, according to Maher.

In other business, the board will decide in January whether to hire Ingraham

Planning Associates Inc. to come up with a 10-year strategic plan for the

district. Company representative Dancu said the company would perform

community demographic studies and establish a decadelong enrollment

projection model to assess whether the school district needs to expand its

buildings or reallocate its resources.

Dancu, a former middle school principal, said the company has done similar

work for the Bangor Area and Area school districts in recent months.

Reporter Shappell can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at

bshappell@....