Mold solution spawns national award

[Guest guest]

Mold solution spawns national award

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

http://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/portals-code/list.cgi?

paper=90 & cat=23 & id=560399 & more=

By Horsting

Dec 21 2005

The Vashon Island School District is among only six schools and

districts selected nationally to receive the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency's (EPA) Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ)

2006 Excellence Award for its efforts to improve indoor air quality.

The winners are selected from hundreds of schools and districts

nationwide which have implemented IAQ management programs and seen

improvements in indoor air quality, according to a press release

from the district.

The award is EPA's most prestigious honor, recognizing exemplary

indoor air quality programs and commitment to providing a healthy

learning environment for students and staff.

According to EPA, indoor pollutants in schools can have a variety of

associated health risks, including headaches, nausea, respiratory

problems and asthma.

School district superintendent Dr. Mimi will receive the

honor at the 6th Annual IAQ TfS National Symposium in Washington,

D.C., on Jan. 12.

Additionally, will be a featured speaker at the symposium to

mentor other school leaders from throughout the U.S. about how to

implement an indoor air quality program and make other changes to

operate a school district in an environmentally conscious way.

said after hearing of the award, " Our Vashon Island School

Board of Directors has been instrumental in the steps leading up to

this award. They have represented this community's high regard for

the environment and supported the changes that have been necessary

to ensure that our schools are safe, environmentally wise, and

operating at the highest energy efficiency levels possible. "

As a participant in the King County Green Schools Program, VISD

pledged to make environmental gains in the categories of waste

reduction and recycling, water conservation, energy conservation,

and environmental education, and it has made measurable strides in

each of these areas.

In 2001, the district implemented the IAQ TfS Program.

Vashon found financing to be the largest obstacle to implementing

the IAQ TfS Program. More than $5 million was spent to address IAQ

issues in an elementary and high school. The district used its

capital fund balance and general fund to resolve other related

problems. To address the elementary school remediation, the district

took out a $5 million line of credit and declared the project an

emergency. But despite the level of cost, the district had

measurable success.

The money had to be spent because mold was discovered in the high

school, water intrusion was found at both the elementary school and

the high school, and mold spores and other airborne contaminants

were exposed at the administration building.

And a HAZMAT team was needed to remove various science lab

materials.

These discoveries were serious and had implications both for human

health and structural integrity, school officials say.

The program was piloted in three school buildings before being

implemented district-wide. The top priority was to develop a work

order system that involved all stakeholders and included immediate

reporting tools. In addition, the District developed a preventative

maintenance program.

Every district building has an IAQ team. IAQ complaints can be

reported by a variety of methods and by anyone in the district. The

building administrator investigates the complaint, and if the

problem is sufficiently severe, the capital projects manager is

notified. The superintendent is also alerted to each complaint.

Some measures of success cited by the district include receipt of a

$30,000 EPA Buy Clean grant to address health concerns and

structural issues and evidence of 50 percent fewer absences in a

third-grade classroom after the school nurse introduced a Wash Your

Hands program which included IAQ.

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[Guest guest]

Interesting, how differently things go when a school district really gets behind

this and behaves pro-actively. I hope the award helps send a message to other

school districts that aren't getting the idea yet! They're getting sued, she's

getting awards. They're losing valuable employees, she's attracting them.

They're dodging sick kids and worried patients, she's inviting them to speak up

any time. Hmmm.....

tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

Mold solution spawns national award

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

http://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/portals-code/list.cgi?

paper=90 & cat=23 & id=560399 & more=

By Horsting

Dec 21 2005

The Vashon Island School District is among only six schools and

districts selected nationally to receive the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency's (EPA) Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ)

2006 Excellence Award for its efforts to improve indoor air quality.

The winners are selected from hundreds of schools and districts

nationwide which have implemented IAQ management programs and seen

improvements in indoor air quality, according to a press release

from the district.

Serena

There is no such thing as an anomaly. Recheck your original premise.

...Ayn Rand,

paraphrased

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