'MOLD KIDS' VICTIMS NO MORE

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'MOLD KIDS' VICTIMS NO MORE

By: BRIDGET ALBERT, Editor 04/14/2004

Twelve Amity students say they've been robbed of the best years of

their lives, and they are fighting back.

The teens, who all range in age from 12 to 17 years old, can't go to

school like hundreds of their friends because they claim the

conditions of Amity's schools make them ill.

These students have dubbed themselves the " mold kids, " and are all

frustrated because they simply want to be able to enjoy a normal

school day.

" I am really sick of it, " said Kaitlyn , who has been taking

classes at home since last October. " I don't think anyone can be home

for seven moths and not be sick of it. I just want to finish up the

year...so I can put this behind me. "

and 11 other Amity students have decided to stop being victims

and recently began talking with one another and brainstorming ideas

for what they can do to make the schools safe for all students.

They have started the Amity Students Network, and their mission is to

unite all students who wish to advocate for a healthier school

environment and work to make sure students who have had their health

adversely affected are not forgotten.

hopes other kids who are experiencing mold-related symptoms

will come forward and put their health first. She said she has heard

from some peers that others are experiencing symptoms but are not

telling anyone, because they fear being sent home from school.

Group members said they do not support the upcoming $70 million

referendum that would expand the high school in Woodbridge and

renovate the two junior high schools in Orange and Bethany. They said

they don't believe renovations will cure what is ailing the

dilapidated buildings: mold.

" We are afraid the buildings won't be healthy and safe, " 15-year-old

Finneran said. " We are afraid more kids are going to get sick

like us. "

Mold was first detected at Amity High in the late 1990's after a

construction project that was allegedly shoddily completed. Mold was

also documented at Bethany Junior High in 2001 which has a leaky

roof. Several classrooms have been closed at one time or another due

to air quality concerns.

Mold concerns surfaced anew at Amity High in 2002 when Interim

Superintendent of Schools Nast ordered the high school

auditorium closed because it made several people ill. Nast even said

his allergies were aggregated while inside the auditorium. The

auditorium has remained closed.

Superintendent of Schools Helene Skrzyniarz, however, said she

believes the renovations will dramatically alter the moldy conditions.

" The two junior highs will be taken down to their bones. Without

question they will be taken care of, " she said, explaining that while

the buildings are gutted you can see behind the walls if anything

lingers.

The high school, she said, will be addressed as well. She explained

that although the state reimbursement will not be available,

addressing the air handling units, drainage and balancing the

humidity will go a long way in creating a healthy learning and

working environment.

Some parents, however, say the conditions of the schools have forced

them to pay for expensive private schools.

Cassandra Slauson, 15, was placed on homebound from the Bethany

campus in September. She said she was promised tutors to keep up with

class assignments, but the tutoring sessions were sporadic at best

and meant she was home alone.

Slauson's parents decided to send her to Cheshire Academy.

" It was the only school that would help us out, " Cassandra Slauson

said. " My parents should not have had to incur the expense. It wasn't

my fault the school made me sick. "

, Slauson, and 10 other Amity students say the quickly became

good friends and they gathered recently at a restaurant in Bethany to

talk about their frustrations with the Amity school district's

inability to remedy what ills them: the moldy school buildings.

Siena, Bobby Slauson, Kaczur, Ginger ,

Jenn Finneran, Finneran, Finneran, Cassandra Slauson,

Vernik and Westyn Longo all say they are losing the best

years of their lives as they are forced to sit at home alone while

their friends are at school.

Siena, 16, who was forced to leave Amity High in November, said he is

afraid about his future because the tutoring the district provides is

not reliable.

" I wish this hadn't happened. I wish they had taken care of the

schools, " Siena said. " I am unhappy a lot of the time. "

Finneran, 16, is still attending classes at Amity High but

says she feels like a prisoner because so many areas of the building

cause her respiratory duress.

As a precaution, school officials installed air purifiers in all of

her classrooms, but there are still certain areas she cannot set foot

in. She can't take her health class and she has to be tutored in math

in the faculty dining room.

Kaczur 17, has been homebound since December, and her doctor has

forbid her return to Amity High. She misses her friends and teachers,

and is very upset, she said.

Cassandra's brother Bobby Slauson, 14, was placed on homebound in

February.

He cannot attend any of the three campuses per his physician's order

and is therefore tutored at the Woodbridge library. Although he was

medicated daily for his symptoms, his physician didn't want him to

have to pop pills in order to go to school each day, he said.

" My doctor felt I shouldn't be continually medicated to stay in

school, " Bobby Slauson said.

Vernik, 12, was at the Bethany campus and became homebound in

January. Six weeks later he was transferred to the Orange campus.

While he realizes he is fortunate to be able to stay in school, he

said he feels isolated.

" I miss my friends at Bethany, " Vernik said. " I am mad that I am not

able to be with my friends. I have known them since kindergarten.

It's not the same. "

Finneran, 15, was placed on homebound from the Bethany campus

in December 2002.

This past August she was outplaced for one year at Woodland High

School in Beacon Falls where she says she is doing well. However,

there is no guarantee she can stay there since the arrangement is

only for one year.

" I don't think its fair I have to go through this, " she said.

Finneran's sister , 13, was transferred from the Bethany campus

to Orange campus in August due to the respiratory difficulties she

encountered.

She has a history of asthma, and since her two sisters developed

respiratory problems at Bethany her physician felt it would be wise

to not expose her to that environment, said.

But she isn't happy in Orange.

" I don't like Orange, I have no friends, " said. " I don't think

this should be happening. They should fix the schools the right way

so everyone can go back. "

Ginger , 15, was barred from the Bethany campus last May

because school officials thought she was smoking pot. Her eyes were

constantly red, but she said it was because of the allergies she was

suffering from not from pot smoking.

She now attends Career High School in New Haven and is an honors

student. She still suffers from a sinus infection as a result of her

time at Bethany Junior High.

said she is looking forward to college and is taking nursing

classes because she wants to go into medicine after experiencing the

problems she has faced at Amity.

" It's been very stressful, " said. " They took a part of my life

away, my growing up years. "

Anyone wishing to join the Amity Student Network may contact the

group at www.amitystudents@...

~~

Bridget Albert can be reached at balbert@... or 876-6800

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?

newsid=11305318 & BRD=1661 & PAG=461 & dept_id=9538 & rfi=6>

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