Hastings: Mold control at Star is pricey business

[Guest guest]

Hastings: Mold control at Star is pricey business

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

The Grand Rapids Press - MLive.com - Grand Rapids,MI*

By Albanese

The Grand Rapids Press

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-

3/121560935060960.xml & coll=6

HASTINGS -- Star Elementary costs $40,000 more to operate than the

district's largest elementary partly because of the cost of fighting

mold with air-conditioning and dehumidifiers.

Parents have argued at recent meetings that those higher costs mean

the district should close Star, 1900 Star School Road, rather than

Pleasantview Elementary, 3754 Lacey Road. Last month, the Board of

Education approved the plan to close Pleasantview to trim $330,000

from a $700,000 deficit.

Administrators brought in the Barry/Eaton County Health Department

and Analytical Testing and Consulting Services to test mold-spore

counts at Star last month.

Analytical Testing, a Plainwell consulting firm, also checked Star

in 2005 and 2002 and didn't find high mold counts. The most recent

results show no high numbers.

" I didn't see any high numbers in the test results, " said Greg

Cabose, the health department's community services supervisor. " The

highest number of spore count was five to six times higher outside

than inside the building. "

The district has had to make extra efforts to control moisture at

Star since it was built 10 years ago, administrators said. But

Superintendent Rich Satterlee said parents who wanted Pleasantview

to remain open sensationalized this problem.

" They used this to point a finger at this building because they

didn't want their school to close, " he said.

Built in a " low-lying swaley area, " air-conditioning and

dehumidifiers are used all summer to stop mold growth and create a

comfortable atmosphere for summer school, Satterlee said. Star is

the only school with air conditioning throughout the building, he

said.

" The mold found on the carpet at Star school is a common form of

white mold found in the environment, " Satterlee said in a report to

parents. " Baseball- or smaller-sized spots occur sporadically only

if we are cleaning carpets on a humid day, which is only done when

school is not in session. We keep the circulation fans running and

dehumidifiers turn on automatically if the room reaches the required

55 percent humidity. "

Controlling moisture is the key factor in stopping mold growth,

Cabose said.

" I didn't see any type of mold problem there, " he said.

But Pat Olmstead, who formerly worked in food service at Star, said

she wonders if lung problems she's developed are a result of

exposure to mold.

" Bulldoze Star school, " she recently told the board.