Key schools official quits in midst of building binge

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Jul. 09, 2002

Key schools official quits in midst of building binge

BY STEVE HARRISON

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The Broward School District's top building official has quit four months

into the job, just as the district is working to open a record 11 new

schools this fall. Alan Gilbert gave notice on Wednesday because he felt

his own newly created department was ''dysfunctional'' and that the school

district was not committed to reform.

His last day on the job was Monday.

''The department I'm in charge of never came together,'' Gilbert said

Monday. ``There are issues with the new schools being built that I didn't

want to sign off on. ''The district seems to be trying,'' he said, ``but I

can't turn around an aircraft carrier with my tugboat.''

A symptom of the district's problems, Gilbert said, is that mold and mildew

have been found in schools still under construction. At Westglades Middle in

Parkland, which has the most serious problems, the builder installed drywall

before the building was watertight, allowing mold and mildew to grow during

June's wet weather.

Mold and mildew plagued several Broward schools throughout the 1990s,

including Virginia Shuman Young Elementary, where students and teachers

blamed headaches and bronchial problems on the conditions. The district is

still repairing several schools with severe problems, and the Broward State

Attorney's Office has been investigating efforts to fix the damage since

January.

That investigation is a follow-up to a 1997 grand jury report that

criticized the district building efforts as wasteful, saying that in its

haste to open new schools, it ignored health and safety violations,

including hydrants with no water and nonworking fire alarms.

Gilbert pointed out several problems that led to his resignation. Some of

his building inspectors -- hired before he arrived -- were resistant to

following his lead, he said. Three inspectors sued the district last fall,

alleging retaliation for pointing out safety flaws in school construction.

Their cases are pending.

Also, a salary scale approved to hire building plan reviewers wasn't high

enough to get the best people, Gilbert said.

Blackwood, a senior inspector who reported to Gilbert, said she

believes the school district's rapid schedule has made builders feel

pressured to finish construction.

''There is such a hurry to build these schools that the contractors are

putting drywall up before the roofs and windows are in,'' Blackwood said.

``We are supposed to have a building department, but it isn't functional.''

Other schools under construction have some mold and mildew problems as well,

she said, including Park Lakes Elementary in Lauderdale Lakes, Liberty

Elementary in Margate, Manatee Bay in Weston, and New Renaissance Middle in

Miramar.

Rick Ragland, who leads the district's anti-mold and mildew efforts, said

the problems at Westglades Middle are different from the earlier issues at

other schools, which occurred after the buildings were completed. The

current problems stem from workers installing drywall before roofs or

windows were sealed. Once removed, the mold and mildew should not return,

Ragland said.

''This isn't a good situation, but it's not because of bad school design,''

Ragland said.

Westglades' builder, Miami-based Betancourt Castellon and Associates, is

removing the damaged drywall, Ragland said, although mold on some walls at

Westglades Middle appeared to have been painted over, The Herald found

Monday. The builder could not be reached for comment Monday.

Board member Darla toured Westglades Middle two weeks ago and saw the

moldy walls.

''I'm disgusted,'' said. ``The problems we've had before still exist.

We've built schools too fast before, and we're building them too fast now.''

The district hired Gilbert in February from a similar Palm Beach County job

to run its building department. His salary was $89,000 a year.

As of March, Florida school districts are required to have their own

building departments to inspect schools for safety -- a job once performed

by the Department of Education.

Superintendent Till said Gilbert's departure won't set back school

construction, but the summer's wet weather has slowed things down. Officials

are meeting July 22 to develop contingency plans in case some buildings are

not ready to open on time.

Bob Goode, Gilbert's supervisor, will handle inspections until a replacement

is hired, Till said.

Problems will be fixed, Till promised. Westglades and other schools won't

open until the mold and mildew are removed, he said.

''There is no need to open an unsafe school,'' Till said. ``With our

contingency plans, we won't have to do that.''