Parents still question decision to remediate St. East High School rather than to rebuild

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D303 feuds fresh despite 'mold-free' claim

By Ed Pilolla

STAFF WRITER

East High project: Parents still question decision to remediate rather than

to rebuild

ST. CHARLES - Toxic mold shut down St. East High School a year

ago, but the fumes of discontent directed at school officials still linger.

Just go to virtually any public meeting that St. Unit School

District 303 sponsors these days.

For much of the past year, a handful of parents have unabashedly

scrutinized and publicly criticized the district's handling of the East High

mold remediation project.

Some members of the media also have taken the district to task over the

mold and other issues.

" Dance, dance, dance, " a local newspaper columnist said to the district's

spokesman, Tom , last month at a construction update meeting.

was answering the columnist's question about why East High

School's gymnasium would open before its sprinkler system was fully

installed.

At another meeting, a parent accused Superintendent Fran Kostel of keeping

something called " Fran's list, " which allegedly is a list of construction

workers to be fired because they leak information about the project to

parents. Kostel denied any such thing exists.

" It's a public forum. We have free speech and people may act in any manner

they wish to act, " said school board President Steve Cole.

Some parents insist the choice to remediate the mold problem at the high

school instead of building a new one was short-sighted and wrong-headed.

They describe themselves as watchdogs of the school district.

School officials, on the other hand, privately say the so-called

" watchdogs " - comprised of about a half-dozen school district parents -

really want to discredit the school board's decision last year to remediate

East High instead of building a new school.

PR battle continues

An anonymous leaflet delivered to many homes in St. last weekend

ripped the remediation project and continued the public relations battle

over the legacy of the decision.

" Did you know the East High School repairs will cost the taxpayers over

$30 million? " the leaflet read. " In 1997, over $7 million was spent on the

HVAC system. That didn't fix the air-quality problem. "

School officials, smarting over the leaflet's possible impact on the

district's referendum proposals Tuesday, denied its claims. Officials

maintain the estimate for the total remediation cost remains at $25 million

and that all air testing done in the 1990s indicated only air-circulation

problems.

Industrial hygienists did not identify mold until 2001, school officials

maintain.

A year ago next month, St. East High School was closed because of

the potentially toxic mold. Soon after the closing, residents began dividing

themselves between those who wanted to build a new high school and those who

supported the administration's inclination to gut the school and clean it.

A split school board decided to fix the school, saying it would be cheaper

than building a new school, and it would be just as environmentally sound.

But many parents disagreed and haven't backed down, even after the school

was declared mold-free last week.

Communication criticism

Why they haven't backed down is a question that elicits different answers

from different people.

The parents point to Kostel, who has been criticized as being an

unconvincing communicator for the district. To improve its presentation to

the public, the district last fall hired , who was working as

spokesman for the state board of education.

The watchdog parents say that hire was unnecessary and so was, for

example, construction manager Gilbane's replacing an air-conditioning unit

atop the school.

The parents flat-out object to other decisions made in the remediation

project, such as reopening the gym at the school before the sprinkler system

was installed.

At times, the behavior of some of these parents has offended school

officials, including snickering, eye-rolling and accusations that the

district has been " cooking the books " with the remediation project.

And when watchdog parents doubted the district's environmental

consultants - Carnow, Conibear and Associates - over the safety of wiring

above a drop ceiling, the district hauled in a local fire marshal last week

for reassurance.

" We didn't take any offense at all, " said Wayne Taubken of CCA. " What we

should have done in the first place is bring him in right away. "

Privately, however, a school official said CCA and the St. Fire

Department were outraged.

Demanding answers

Last week, board President Cole received a letter from a parent

questioning what she asserted was a lack of proper research done to

determine a new school site in West Chicago's Cornerstone Lakes subdivision.

The letter was written by Robbie Raehl, who has attended many meetings

over the past year. Many who know her consider Raehl an outspoken, tenacious

and respectful district watchdog.

" We want the school board to be good shepherds for our children's

education and good stewards of our tax dollars, " Raehl said. She added,

" They're falling short, and I think the way to improve it is to ask tough

questions and demand results. "

" There's more questions about the remediation, " said Raehl, who favored

building a new St. East High School but says she has accepted the

school board's decision and, at this point, merely wants the remediation

done correctly.

" I don't see the board (asking pertinent) questions, " Raehl said.

says he has no bad feelings toward the parents groups that are

critical.

" It is always valuable to have citizens who are informed, who care enough

to get involved. They give up weeks, months of their lives to be involved, "

said.

But, he added, " Can it be frustrating? Sure. "