Leaks, trash, mold plague some schools

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Leaks, trash, mold plague some schools Audit: More problems on older, poorer campuses By Tim Eaton Caller-TimesMay 11, 2003 A few students are so dreading classes next year in the decaying, dank and, some say, disgusting port-able classrooms outside of Wynn Seale Academy that they have made it their cause to draw attention to the poor conditions at the middle school. Sixth-grade teacher Bertha Tamez's social studies class has been trying to raise awareness of the deteriorating buildings by talking to anyone who will listen. Through a social studies lesson called "Project Citizen," they have contacted elected officials, district decision-makers and the news media in their effort to get help to clean up their campus. Wynn Seale is not the Corpus Christi Independent School District's only campus with substandard facilities. Many campuses in the 39,000-student district have documented deficiencies. The problem of unacceptable learning environments is district-wide. But at schools in neighborhoods of mostly economically disadvantaged families, which include Wynn Seale, the problem is the most dire, according to a report sanctioned by the district's school board. Margie De Leon, one of the Wynn Seale sixth-graders seeking to let people know about the conditions of her school, said she has seen some of the problems festering in and around the portable classrooms. She said she found algae growing, mold spreading, colonies of mosquitoes breeding and broken glass in the maze of portables. Holes in roofs that leak after storms add to the substandard conditions, she said. Another Wynn Seale student, eighth-grader Ausland, scared Margie and her friends with unpleasant stories about taking classes in portables. has been going to school in the temporary trailer/classrooms for two years. She told of students falling through rotten floorboards, rats eating the students' glue, a fishy smell that comes with hot weather, and a window shattering when a door closed. Besides the portables being a dangerous eyesore, they can also be health hazards, said. "In the classrooms, we have mold in the tiles," she said. "The people with allergies can't concentrate. They start to sneeze and cough and stuff." Wynn Seale teacher Rose Lantz called the portable cluster "very sad." "This just seems dangerous to me," she said from outside her classroom. "You don't know if the roof will fly off or you'll fall though the floor." The portables at Wynn Seale - some are as old as 15 years - are a far throw from some of the temporary classrooms in the southern side of the city. First- and second-graders from have been studying in brand new portable classrooms since the beginning of the school year. District workers set up the portables in the back yard of Elementary School, since they discovered massive mold infestation at . Air conditioners hum along the walkway in the portable-classroom village. There are shady areas, wooden guardrails and, besides the random wrapper in the wind, the area is as clean as a golf course. Inside, the classrooms are cool and clean. They have white tiled floors, and natural light creeps in. The windows are a favorite feature of first-grade teacher Robin Halford in Room 42. She also said having restrooms in the portable classroom village makes the setup comfortable. teachers have made their temporary home as normal as possible. (They expect to be back on the home campus in the fall.) Miniature chairs and desks are set up in rows. And student artwork and exceptional assignments hang on the wood-paneled walls. "I think for a temporary classroom, it's very suitable," Halford said. Margie has not seen the portables, but she has seen pictures of ones like it. She said she hopes the district will replace the old one at Wynn Seale with new ones, like the ones at . Superintendent Jesus H. Chavez said he has not made plans for the portables at . But he said his staff is looking at which schools will need them next year. He mentioned that Mireles Elementary School might need them. But Chavez did say something that might give Margie some hope. "As we look at the long-term planning, we need to replace or get rid of the older portables," he said. "It doesn't make sense to continue those." The school board already took a step to discover the problems. School board member Harry captained an effort to hire auditors to review the campuses and report to the board. The audit team examined classrooms, restrooms, cafeterias, offices and the grounds. They returned with information that documented problems with the district's facilities. They also noted that the schools in the poorer sections of the school district looked worse than those in the wealthier areas. "The learning environment in many of the Corpus Christi Independent School District schools are less than favorable," auditors wrote in their report. "A majority of those buildings are located on the west side or central parts of the district. Aging facilities along with conditions created by the environment, such as mold, are proving to be real challenges that everyone acknowledges and must be addressed soon." The auditors noted that administrators understand that schools in poor condition lead to problems for students' learning. Administrators could just ask Wynn Seale's Lantz about how the surroundings affect students. "The students are not as well-behaved. They're louder out here. They don't do that in there," she said as she gestured to the main building. "It's more like a camp meeting out here." Chavez agreed that the condition of classrooms affects students' achievement. And he said the problem exists all over, not just in the western parts of the city. Some south side schools need as much renovation. He mentioned Central Park Elementary School and Ray High School particularly. Ray has some of the oldest portable classrooms in the district, and they need to be replaced, Chavez said. He will have a better understanding of which schools need renovation by next fall, he added. Chavez said his staff would finish a master list of district to-do's by March. "The renovation of schools is important to the district so that we can have comparable learning environments," he said. "We've got to upgrade the older schools." South Park Middle School came up most often on the list of problems. The auditors called the westside school "dirty," "dingy" and in need of painting. They also said it was "trashy" and "poorly kept" with gum on its bad sidewalks. All rooms need to be repaired, they concluded. South Park Principal Homero Villarreal called the report "very harsh." "Now, I recognize that we need to work on improving the areas outlined in the report," he said, "While we were already aware of those things, it gave us an extra push." The report only noted the problems, he said, but does not provide any recommendations for funding. "I believe that is strictly a money issue," he said. "Schools become older, and they become more expensive to maintain." Since the audit report came out, Villarreal said that the students have worked to make the campus more appealing. On April 25, Arbor Day, they planted an oak tree. They also placed flowers at the entrance and repainted the school's sign. Other schools noted by the auditors include: Moody High School with its cracked walks and potholes, Prescott Elementary School with its downed trees and Middle School with its smelly drains. Haas Middle School was described as rundown. Some of the commended schools include: Grant Middle School, described as clean and well kept; Mireles Elementary School, described as excellent; Elementary School, described as very nice; and Crockett Elementary School, which was called well-maintained. Contact Tim Eaton at 886-3794 or eatont@... Copyright 2003, Caller.com. .