Moss Side Elementary School Students Moved From Moldy Building

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Domencic: New class sites working well

By Ruane, Staff writer February 27, 2002

Banners and signs welcoming students from Moss Side Elementary School were

displayed in the hallways of Moss Side Middle School on Tuesday as the

younger students began classes in a new setting. Gateway School Board last

week approved moving elementary students to Moss Side Middle and University

Park Elementary because of Moss Side Elementary's leaky roof and a

custodian's discovery of black mold in a girls restroom at the elementary

school.

Dr. Domencic, Gateway superintendent, said the relocation of

classes went well.

" The transition was terrific. "

Domencic was pleased with the level of readiness at Moss Side Middle

for nine extra classrooms' worth of students - youngsters in grades two

through four from Moss Side Elementary.

Classes for those youngsters are being held in Moss Side Middle's art

and music rooms, old computer lab and gym, where the elementary students

also are eating their lunches.

" The students seemed to be very comfortable and adapted right away to

the new environment, " he said.

Kindergarten and first-grade students from Moss Side Elementary are

attending classes at University Park Elementary.

Replacement of the Moss Side Elementary roof, which was under way on

Tuesday as workers began to tear off the old roof, is expected to take up to

60 days.

Domencic expects the students who switched class sites on Tuesday to

finish the school year in their new surroundings, rather than returning to

Moss Side Elementary for the few weeks of classes that will remain after the

roof replacement is complete.

The Moss Side Elementary roof has been problematic for several years

and drop ceilings inside the school are in poor condition.

The board chose Triangle Roofing Inc. to handle the roof's

replacement, which is expected to cost about $250,000.

That decision, along with the one to relocate students as of Tuesday,

came after the black mold's discovery the week before last.

The district had been monitoring the air at Moss Side Elementary since

December, when staff members expressed concern about headaches, runny noses

and flu-like symptoms.

Results of that monitoring had been negative until a custodian found

the black mold growing in a girls restroom. Testing showed low levels of

spores from the mold on one day, but results the next day once again were

negative.

Domencic said physical inspection of the area may have disturbed the

mold, and that may have caused the positive test.

Additional visual inspection found the mold in part of a hallway, the

library and a classroom. All those areas were sealed off while students

remained at Moss Side Elementary last week.

Because of concerns about the mold's rapid growth and the potential

disruption involved in moving students from one area to another if the roof

were repaired in sections, the board decided to move classes to Moss Side

Middle School and replace the entire roof as a whole.

Domencic has assured parents and the community that the Moss Side

Elementary building poses no serious health risks, saying the district's

actions to correct the problem are proactive.

Gateway officials contacted the federal Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention and the Allegheny County Health Department to investigate,

but both agencies indicated there are no standards for hazards posed by mold

in schools and spores found in testing of air.

©Times Express Star 2002