Mold discovered at high school

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Mold discovered at high school

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Providence Journal - Providence,RI*

By

Journal Staff Writer

http://www.projo.com/education/content/SC_NK_MOLD_02-06-

08_HF8T6HB_v12.34864b4.html

NORTH KINGSTOWN — Workers at North Kingstown High School are

monitoring a leak and mold problem in the auditorium, which was

closed Friday, Monday and part of yesterday.

School officials discovered " a couple of wet spots " after touring

the building with an insurance agent, said Ned Draper, director of

administrative services.

A crew cleaned the area and a contractor opened a wall near the hall

entrance and found mold, Draper said. Some Sheetrock and carpeting

was removed and the area is " being dried out, " he said.

The auditorium was scheduled to reopen yesterday afternoon, said

principal Gerald Foley.

But part of a wall near the entrance will remain open so that

workers can determine how water is entering. The water could be

coming from the floor of a nearby bathroom, said Foley and Draper.

Or it could be coming from elsewhere. Draper said workers will watch

the opening during the next rainstorm to see if the water is coming

from the roof. " We're going to give it a couple of more days, "

Draper said. The open wall will be covered in plastic.

An air quality test yesterday revealed no threat to students. " The

space was always safe, " Draper said.

The auditorium, which includes a large stage, is used by music and

theater students and for school plays, assemblies and town and

school board meetings. " It's been a little bit of an inconvenience "

but the repairs are done, Foley said.

The mold is the latest in a handful of problems to beset the six-

year-old school, a state-of-the-art building with a towering glass

wall but also past heating and construction problems.

The start of the 2001-02 school year was delayed for two weeks while

a New York construction company tried to finish the $33-million

building. When the school finally opened, some parts were off

limits. A year later the town fired the company, claiming it left

$1.4 million in unfinished work.

Meanwhile, some teachers and students had to wear gloves and coats

to class because of heating problems. Other rooms were too hot.

In 2003, cleaning workers removed books from the school's media

center after a librarian discovered mold on them. The students were

still able to use the media center's computers because the air

quality was good. The moldy books were removed and cleaned.

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