Broward school officials blame mold problem on rush to build

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Broward school officials blame mold problem on rush to build

By Bill Hirschman

Education Writer

Posted July 10 2002

Greenish-black splotches of mold and mildew spatter walls and line

baseboards in some Broward County classrooms still under construction, where

children will sit in less than two months.

In recent visits to Westglades Middle School in Parkland and Park Lakes

Elementary in Lauderdale Lakes, school building inspectors pointed out

mold -- the type they said made scores of students and employees ill in

other schools.

The mold is a symptom of a larger problem hurting Broward's massive school

construction program, according to interviews with school building

officials.

Intense pressure to ease classroom crowding has prompted contractors and

architects to cut corners on some of the 11 schools and two classroom

additions set to open through December, said seven inspectors and their

supervisors. The rush repeats the fatal flaw that resulted in shoddy

workmanship and widespread mold problems during the school building boom of

the 1990s, the inspectors said.

The shortcomings were brought to light by three inspectors who filed a

whistleblower lawsuit against the school district last fall. Many of their

concerns are now being echoed by Chief Building Official Alan Gilbert, who

was hired in February to fix the problems and resigned in frustration this

week.

" It took me 15 years to build my reputation. I don't want to lose it in six

months, " Gilbert said. " The school district needs ... a total rethinking of

the way things are done. "

Many times, inspectors said they refused to approve sub-par work because it

violates the state Building Code, but contractors simply ignored the order

and covered up problems with paint, concrete, drywall or a ceiling, Gilbert

and the inspectors said.

" I'm not going to break the law for anybody, " Gilbert said. The problem is

" they're just moving on; contractors are just ignoring it. "

While Gilbert agrees that the rush to build is undercutting quality, he said

he thinks some of his inspectors have been overzealous and unreasonable. He

said he resigned for several reasons, among them the stress of the endless

barrage of failed inspections and complaints from workers who filed the

lawsuit.

Builders and architects involved with the new schools strongly denied the

charge that substandard work occurs.

" I never cut a corner in my life. It comes back to haunt you, " said Fletcher

Sessoms, the president of Sessoms Construction Co., builder of Manatee Bay

Elementary in Weston.

His colleagues argue that a handful of disgruntled inspectors nitpick at

details that do not affect safety or quality.

" There are a couple of people who intentionally delay some projects with

erroneous inspections and unreasonable over-inspections, " said Dana Sheldon,

president of Danville-Findorff, which is building Park Lakes Elementary in

Lauderdale Lakes.

Betancourt, project manager for contractor Betancourt-Castellon and

Associates, which is building Westglades, said he was unaware of any mold

problem or ignored inspections and said it was highly unlikely to have

occurred.

Mold has been a serious problem in dozens of schools built during the past

decade, causing students and educators to complain of coughing, sneezing,

watery eyes, headaches and respiratory problems. At Virginia Shuman Young

Elementary in Fort Lauderdale, staff members are still trying -- eight years

after it opened -- to eradicate mold.

The problem could be avoided if contractors would abide by standard building

procedures, said Blackwood, a senior inspection supervisor and a

leader of the complaining inspectors.

Instead of sealing the building first, workers install drywall and cabinets

while windows lack glass, even while daylight shows through gaps between the

window frame and concrete block walls. Moisture seeps in and bacteria grows.

By not waiting, the builder can do exterior work and interior work at the

same time.

" That's unconscionable, " Gilbert said. " What could the contractors have been

thinking? Taking a bet that it wasn't going to rain? "

Some builders and architects argued that installing drywall before the

building is sealed is acceptable. " It's customary sometimes when there are

time constraints, " Sheldon said. " Sometimes the drywall gets wet. We cut it

out and totally replace it. "

But mold gets inside walls, behind and under cabinets and is difficult to

eradicate until it re-emerges months later, inspectors said.

Inspectors have photographs and other evidence of mold at several other

pending projects, including Manatee Bay, classroom additions at South

Broward High in Hollywood and Boyd High in Lauderdale Lakes, New

Renaissance Middle in Miramar and Liberty Elementary in Margate, Blackwood

said.

Staff for the school district's independent audit division confirmed this

week that they too saw mold at several schools, said Reilly,

executive director of the Office of Management/Facility Audits.

" It's disgusting, " said School Board member Darla . " My colleagues

just want to open schools too fast, too quick, too soon. "

Gilbert said: " Schools need enough time for decent planning, design and

[plan] reviewing. When a school is released [open for bids] in July to open

in [the following] August, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that's

not going to work. "

Superintendent Till said last week that he had been unaware of the

mold problems in the new buildings but will make sure they're cleaned up.

Calhoun, deputy superintendent over the construction department,

acknowledged that the district is walking a tightrope.

" It's always been a balance between getting the school open and observing

the [state Building] Code, " Calhoun told the School Board last month, but he

denied knowledge of any poor workmanship.

Responding to criticisms of nitpicking, inspector M.L. Rouco said people

must appreciate two facts about the code: Every rule was established in

reaction to someone being hurt or a structure falling apart, and the

standards are the minimum to ensure safety and quality.

The issues first came to light in October, when Blackwood, Rouco and

Kanner sued the district in October, seeking whistleblower protection and

claiming sexual harassment and discrimination.

Inspectors not involved in the lawsuit echo many of the women's concerns

about poor workmanship, and their inability to make contractors abide by

building codes.

" I could red tag something [fail an inspection] every day, but they wouldn't

stop work, " said veteran inspector Dean Heminger.

The controversy is only the latest rupture in Broward's race to provide

classrooms for nearly two decades of exploding growth in enrollment. Begun

with a 1987 bond issue, the already-overwhelmed district began spending $2

billion on an uninterrupted tidal wave of construction. But faulty

architectural designs and shoddy construction led to a list of problems,

most notably leaky walls and roofs that produced widespread mold and mildew.

Many had hoped Gilbert would be able to help reform and repair the

department, much as he did as director of the building department in the

Palm Beach County school district. " But I can't move the ship, " Gilbert

said. " I can't make a difference. I thought I could. "

Education Writers Malernee and Toni Marshall contributed to this

report.

Bill Hirschman can be reached at bhirschman@... or

954-356-4513.

Copyright © 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel