Vashon High improvises to handle returning students Tacoma, WA

[Guest guest]

http://www.tribnet.com/

Vashon High improvises to handle returning students

TOXIC MOLD: No classes will be held in building where mold found behind

walls

10/05/2000

; The News Tribune

Students at Vashon High School will return to class today - but the

surroundings will look a little different.

Classes at the 500-student school were closed for the first three days of

this week, following the discovery of toxic mold behind walls in several

locations.

Now the school has reopened, but no classes will take place in Building A,

the perceived source of the problem. Instead, school officials are

improvising, having classes in new rooms. In some cases, teachers are

joining forces and combining classes.

" They have been relocated in other sections of the high school campus, " said

, assistant to the superintendent. " Some of our teachers in

other buildings have split their rooms in two. There are other spaces that

they're going to share. "

For example, some language arts and social studies classes will be in music

rooms spacious enough to accommodate additional students, said interim

superintendent Mimi .

More than 100 students staged a school walkout last week, citing safety

concerns. A subsequent school board meeting led to the three-day closure.

Health complaints have dogged the school since last year, when two

counselors complained of illness. One has returned on a part-time basis. The

other remains on sick leave.

Symptoms described by Vashon students and staff ranged from headaches,

nausea and chest pains to burning, itchy eyes. The symptoms match some of

the known effects of a greenish-black mold called stachybotrys chartarum.

During inspections last week, Dr. , a forensic toxicologist

with Seattle's Envirotest Research Inc., and the fourth consultant the

district has recruited to tackle the problem, found specimens of

stachybotrys in nine locations behind walls.

said more test results would emerge in a few weeks. He was not

available for comment Wednesday. School officials said the inspections by

various experts have centered on mold, and they have not been advised to

search for any other substances.

and other experts did not find any airborne mold spores - the type

typically associated with the problems described by students and staff. Last

week, said the scientific community is beginning to rethink the

possible ways that mold and associated toxins can be transmitted.

" Molds produce not only spores, " he said. " They produce volatile organic

compounds. What we think is happening is that the spores stay inside the

wall, but the chemicals that the molds produce - the toxins somehow migrate

through the wall, maybe through electrical outlets, maybe just through

ventilation holes or maybe dissolving through the wall. "

The district has hired a fifth consultant to examine the preliminary results

of 's research. A structural engineer will examine the building and

decide what can be done to stop the leaks. The mold thrives on moisture.

District officials said no portable classrooms will be needed for relocation

of classes. The cost of inspections and related research now stands at

$101,000, according to .

Margarett Waterbury, a 14-year-old Vashon student, said Wednesday she felt

safe enough to return to classes. She said some students may be too eager to

blame mold for the natural outbreak of autumn colds.

" I think it'll be fine, " she said. " I don't think there's going to be

another walkout. A lot of people are like, 'Oh, I'm sick, it's the mold.'

But it's fall and people are getting the flu and stuff. I know a lot of them

are really like gung-ho on the thing, but I don't really know if they're

really well-informed about it. "

Parent Sherry Weise, a mechanical engineer, said she thinks the district has

responded well to the problems. She is among the volunteers who helped

school staff rearrange desks and chairs in new areas this week.

" It's been pretty positive, " she said. " I don't think it'll be too hard for

the kids. "

- - -

* Reach staff writer at 253-941-9634 or

sean.robinson@....

© The News Tribune