Update -Parents who are members of the King's Highway School Maintenance Committ

[Guest guest]

Parents who are members of the King's Highway School Maintenance

Committee have taken exception to its final report, which was

released Tuesday by Gavin through First Selectman Gordon

loff's office.

Westport Minuteman - Westport,CT*

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loff thanked and committee members for " doing an

extraordinary amount of research and for holding several technical

discussions and hours of deliberations, " in a statement released to

the press.

However, parents on the committee that was charged with cleaning up

mold and checking air quality at the elementary school have detailed

what they said were important omissions in the report.

Bill Pecoriello, Alison Reilly, and Tarshis said they signed

the report because they believed it provided " a starting point for

creating a comprehensive program for maintenance and air quality

monitoring throughout the entire district. "

However, they noted that the final report was missing test data,

observations and recommendations from Gil Cormier, the industrial

hygienist from Occupational Risk Control Services, who was hired

first by the town, then by the schools, to investigate mold and air

quality. Parents said his report " has been delayed by an undisclosed

conflict between the Westport school administration and Mr.

Cormier. "

Cormier's work was first financed by the town, and a complete report

was submitted by Cormier for that work. However, says in

his longer report that Cormier's work was later financed and managed

by the school administration and that that proved problematic, since

the committee subsequently had problems in getting reports from the

consultant. also notes that Cormier did not always get

access to the school.

Parents also thought that the committee's final report understated

deficiencies in the maintenance practices of the schools. Parents

said that it was these very deficiencies which had led to the

problems in the first place. Indeed, at times in his report,

praises the schools' quick remedying of the maintenance

problems; however, the three parents said that if the overall

maintenance practices weren't modified in the future, the schools

would have difficulties following through with the recommendations

of the report.

Parents had a third major problem with the report, which was the

omission of the 10-year history of air quality complaints.

" Examining this record is not an exercise in 'finger pointing,' as

the report suggests, but rather a critical part of understanding -

and changing - recurring patterns and identifying sound and cost-

effective solutions, " said the parents.

Parent Alison Reilly notes that, " For years members of the current

administration were provided with clear indications that there were

serious problems at Kings Highway, and these indications were

largely ignored. "

Reilly said that air-quality tests in 2002 and 2006 showed problems,

including mold contamination, but the Board of Education did not

reveal the results to the Board of Education, to parents or

teachers.

The appendix which the parents provide in their report has a number

of documents that they received from the administration through the

Freedom of Information Act. One letter from Bob Buckley, who was

principal of King's Highway School in September of 2001, details the

problems that a teacher, Stern, had with Room 33, one of the

rooms that was later found to have extensive problems in the recent

clean-up efforts.

Another letter from Stern to Buckley says that she spoke to a

former teacher, Jane Luongo, who said that she knew after her first

year in the room that it affected her health. Luongo said she had

spoken about her health to Wormser in 1995, when Wormser was

principal of King's Highway.

In 2002, Harrity, a teacher, left after having been encouraged

to do so by her doctor.

In 2002, Gutterman, the present music teacher, complained

about unhealthy conditions in the now demolished pod.

The official report of the entire committee notes that mold spores

were found in several locations: on ceiling tiles, behind walls,

such as in the gymnasium, and in the gymnasium storage areas, where

many porous materials had to be disposed of.

Extensive mold was also found in the " pod " classroom attached to the

back of the school. That room was taken down last summer under

strict conditions to prevent the spread of the mold. Mold was also

found inside an air-conditioner in the school.

Importantly, mold was not found on carpets. The report noted that

changing carpet to tile was recommended only for classrooms that

were on a slab or below grade level, and only as a precautionary

measure.

Carbon dioxide build-up in classrooms was a concern, the report

said, noting that an engineering study of ventilation had been done

and that its recommendations should be implemented.

Pecoriello noted in parents' comments that while the committee could

make recommendations, " It is up to the administration to take

action. "