Jefferson parents fear school smell is mold

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Jefferson parents fear school smell is mold

Some Briggs students moved from classrooms; township official says

there's no sign of health risk

BY MATT MANOCHIO

DAILY RECORD, Jefferson, NJ*

Thursday, February 21, 2008

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articleAID=/20080221/COMMUNI

TIES21/802210325

JEFFERSON -- Something is causing a smell in parts of the Ellen T.

Briggs School that is so unpleasant that district officials moved

the basic skills and first grade students out of two classrooms.

What's causing the smell is unclear, but parents of the elementary

school students -- who range from pre-1 through the second grade --

told the board of education on Tuesday night that they want

something done about it. Some said they fear it could be mold.

" In the beginning of the year there was an awful smell in a few of

the classrooms in the first-grade wing, " Alyson Music, who attended

Tuesday's meeting and is the mother of a 6-year-old student, said on

Wednesday.

Music said repairs were made in the fall to the heating and

ventilation systems, which took care of the smell temporarily. She

said the district sent out a letter saying it was fixed.

" Now the smell has come back, " she said. " The problem is the roof

has not been (replaced) since 1950. "

Music said the roof leaks, and that the boiler is as old as the

building.

" The classrooms get so hot we can't send our kids with winter

clothes, " she said. " There's good grounds for mold to grow. "

School officials concede that there is a smell, and that it began

being noticed intermittently in October. They said there doesn't

appear to be any health hazard.

They are hoping that repairs or replacement of the school's leaking

roof will eliminate the problem and have included funds for that in

the upcoming school budget. The work hasn't been done because the

school budget and a special funding question for roof repairs have

been rejected by voters in recent years, they said.

" I can tell you, we need to replace the roof. That's part of what we

are trying to do in the budget, " schools superintendent Kathleen

Fuchs said on Wednesday.

" This has been a concern for a while, and in fact I would say at one

point the room kind of smelled like it was wet mulch. "

Fuchs said officials don't know what is generating the odor. She

said the district previously employed an environmental consultant

who recommended making repairs or replacements as problems appeared.

" Whenever there was evidence of any kind of stain on (ceiling) tiles

or water, we've gone in and replaced the tiles, " Fuchs said.

She said she elected to move the children from two classrooms where

the smell was most noticeable to other parts of the building. She

said one teacher felt this was necessary, while another said she

never requested the move.

" We're trying to work with the staff. That's the reason they're not

in use, " Fuchs said about the two classrooms.

" I didn't want kids moving back and forth. I felt they should be in

a permanent home. That's why the rooms are not in use right now. "

Kathy Cortese, who attended the meeting and who has a daughter in

the first grade, said many parents want an air-quality test

conducted. She said her daughter is in the same wing of the building

as the two abandoned rooms, and has suffered migraines and strep

throat. She worries that there could be a connection.

Music said her second-grader also reported having headaches more

often.

Cortese described the odor as being similar to that of a damp

basement.

" I smelled a funny smell, " she said about being at the school.

" Have I seen the mold? No. Have I seen leaky panels in the building,

discolored? Absolutely. "

Cortese said she couldn't say for certain that the smell is the

cause of her daughter's illnesses.

" I don't know, I can't say I believe it is, " she said. " I need to

find out. ... It's just something that needs to be explored. "

Cortese said the heat in the school sometimes is so high that she

must put an ice pack in her child's lunchbox to keep the sandwich

cheese from melting.

Township manager Leach said he was made aware of the odor in

October. He said the school district has been handling the issue

properly.

Leach said the bad smell in the two rooms might not even be

connected to the roof.

" Those classrooms don't have leaks, " he said, later, adding that

there is " no indication there's any health hazard. "

Fuchs and school board President Fay Servedio, who wasn't at

Tuesday's meeting, both said that more than $500,000 has been

included in the proposed school budget for next year to build a new

roof on the school.

The Jefferson School District has suffered budget defeats in recent

years, and while voters approved almost all of a $46.9 million

school construction plan in 2002, the same voters rejected a

question calling for $6.2 million for additions and renovations to

three elementary schools, including Briggs. Servedio said roofing

would have been a part of that, had the question passed.

" We've had one passed budget in the last five years, a referendum

failed -- the third part by four votes, " Servedio said. " It's not

for lack of trying. "

As for the outdated boiler, Fuchs said it likely would be included

in the following year's budget, while Servedio said the cost could

be around $110,000.

The board has passed a resolution approving an architect to work on

planning for a new roof in advance of the public vote on the school

budget in April. Even if voters approve the budget, the extensive

nature of the roofing would require work to begin over summer break

when school is out.

" I want to make this perfectly clear, this board knows what the

issues are, " Servedio said. " It cares tremendously about all 3,600

students in our district, and is doing everything it can to take the

corrective action in a responsible manner. "

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Matt Manochio can be reached at (973) 428-6627 or

mmanochi@....

Add Comment | View All Comments

Smell and mold Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:24 pm

Hey Jefferson School District....just get your you know what

together and fix it. Test the air, fix the roof. Come on this is

classic mold. I was exposed to mold while working and headaches,

nausea and sore throats were according to my doctor, classic

symptoms.

Stop making excuses and just fix it....Our childrens health is more

valuable and important than your excuses.

concerned.