Boston Globe and Herald: Mold Closes Boston School

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Hub school closes for week after mold is discovered

By Tench, Globe Staff, 9/10/2003

Boston school officials yesterday shut down the Ohrenberger Elementary School in West Roxbury for the rest of the week after mold was found in several classrooms, frustrating hundreds of families suddenly left without child care.

More than 570 pupils were sent home yesterday with a note to parents saying that the school will be closed until Monday while all of the building's carpeting is removed. It is the latest example of a problem that has beset schools across the region and created hundreds of thousands of dollars in cleanup costs, due to this summer's heavy rains and humidity.

Parents picking up their children yesterday afternoon said they were pleased that the school is fixing the problem but said officials should have addressed it before classes started last week. Some worried they would have to take several days off from work if they could not find last-minute baby sitters or supervised activities for their children. Others were concerned about their children's exposure to the mold, which can cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems.

"We are just hearing about this right now," said Ruiz, the father of 6-year-old twin girls who started first grade last Wednesday. "We're going to try to find something for them to do this week, but it seems like they waited until the last minute to clean it."

School officials have not yet estimated the cost of the work. The ph Lee Elementary School in Dorchester also had mold this summer, but it was cleaned before school started, said Palumbo, a district spokesman. No other Boston schools have had mold problems, he said. "We realize [the school closing] may be an inconvenience for parents . . . but we just want to get rid of the carpet so that mold will not be an issue there any more," he said.

The first signs of mold at the K-5 Ohrenberger school were discovered this summer, but preliminary tests showed that it was safe for children to return, said principal Carol A. Geyer. However, new test results yesterday showed that mold remains in several rooms on the first floor.

While the mold presents no "imminent danger" to students, the carpet must be removed as a precaution, said Cheryl McCloud, spokeswoman for the Boston Public Health Commission.

To help parents find child care, school officials provided a list of community centers that are open during the day. A parents' meeting is scheduled for 7 tonight at the Ohrenberger Community Center.

© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

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Mold closes W. Roxbury elementary school

by Rothstein

Wednesday, September 10, 2003

School's out early for the 500 West Roxbury elementary students whose mold-infested school will be closed for the rest of the week.

Boston Public Schools Superintendent W. Payzant yesterday ordered the Ohrenberger Elementary School shut down until Monday so moldy carpets can be removed.``Because of the humidity that's so high outside the mold was high everywhere,'' said school principal Carol A. Geyer.Students were given letters to take home to parents at the end of the day yesterday informing them of the problem.

Acknowledging some families may have a problem with child care, the school provided the names and addresses of six community centers with daytime children's activities.``Although the mold is confined to a limited area, we will remove all carpeting as a precautionary measure,'' the letter states.Some kinds of mold can cause respiratory problems or an allergic reaction.

Ohrenberger mom Josie Bonet wondered if it was the mold that made her 8-year-old son Francisco Marte cough and wheeze earlier this week.The coughing was so bad on Monday that Bonet brought her second-grader to a health clinic, but she said the doctors could find nothing wrong.``Now I have to go back (to the clinic) and have them make some kind of test,'' Bonet said, adding the three unplanned days off school would haver her scrambling to find a babysitter.

Mold has plagued other schools across the state as they opened on the heels of a humid summer. The Ohrenberger was vulnerable because the air conditioning shut down for 10 days in August, said Harrington, a BPS assistant facilities manager.The school's carpets already had been cleaned for mold but test results yesterday morning showed the problem had returned. Air quality consultant Mark Goldman of EFI Global said more testing was being done but the levels found so far were ``not very high.''

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