Bulletin Newspaper: Health problems plague Louis Agassiz School

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Health problems plague Louis Agassiz School

The Louis Agassiz Elementary School in Jamaica Plain will be the subject

of a City Council inquiry regarding its environmental condition.ph Mont

11.JUN.09

City Council to consider moving 'sick' building to another BPS property

After more than a decade of health concerns at the Louis Agassiz

Elementary School in Jamaica Plain, little seems to have been done about air

quality

at the school.

City Councilors Tobin and Chuck have called for a hearing to

find out why and possibly move its classrooms to another building in the

neighborhood.

" There has been a long-running saga with regard to the air quality there, "

Tobin said. " I know it was 10 years ago when my predecessor, Councilor

Maura Hennigan, put forward a loan order after some contentious debate to do

some capital upgrades after a series of air quality tests to get the place

up to speed and make it safer for the kids, the teachers and the parents. But

what has happened is it just seems like we are back to square one. "

Tobin said teachers continue to complain of coughing, dizziness and nose

bleeds.

" The Environmental Department of the city has been out there on numerous

occasions doing air quality tests, tests for mold and moisture, and trying

to make improvements to fix the air quality, " he said. " It is one of those

buildings that was built some time ago, in that era when air quality just

wasn’t taken into account I guess. "

On June 25, the City Council will convene a hearing at the school on the

matter. Tobin hopes that some creative ideas, and demands for action, will

finally rectify what is considered an example of sick building syndrome.

" Are there federal Hope 6 grants that can go for school buildings, like

there are for public housing? " Tobin asked. " There is a housing project right

now at Washington-Beech in Roslindale that has been demolished and will be

rebuilt with Hope 6 grants. Not only is it going to give people who live

in that development a sense of dignity and kind of a place to call their own,

the air quality is going to be great. It is going to be a healthy

building. We did that at Mission Main a few years ago. Can we do it for a

school?

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