The mold saga continues at Amity High School

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The mold saga continues

Terri Miles, Editor August 06, 2002

WOODBRIDGE - There are worms in the carpet in the guidance wing of Amity

High School, and that's just the tip of the iceberg, according to Bethany

resident Lorri Cavaliere, a member of Interim School Supt. Nast's

Environmental Committee.

Cavaliere said many students who joined the Summer Theater program and

performed in " Fiddler on the Roof " have come down with cold-like symptoms

and respiratory ailments for which they have sought medication.

She learned the choir room has flooded a couple of times since summer

vacation began, but the visible problems in the choir room does not even

touch the severity of the overall problem, she said.

" ServiceMaster employees dried the carpet by blowing it with an industrial

size fan, " she said. " What they were doing is blowing the mold spores back

into the air. "

The long-time mold problem always seems to be swept under the rug as

residents concentrate on the budget and school board woes.

" This is a continuing mold problem; it's not going away, " she said. " The

choir room has been a problem for a couple of years. OSHA came in about two

years ago, and in their report, insisted that an open pipe in the room be

covered. "

A pipe was placed in the hole in an effort to remedy the situation, and

ServiceMaster has been caulking around it, instead of fixing it properly,

according to Cavaliere. An additional obstacle is an open pit, surrounded by

an orange fence, behind the school.

" The water buildup goes through the pipe and into the open pipe, " Cavaliere

said. " Three years ago, it was recommended that the carpets be pulled up

because they have toxic mold in them - that was never done. "

Finance Director McLiverty said he is aware of claims of coughing

problems, but nothing has been officially documented, he said.

He acknowledged the pipe could have been fixed for only a few hundred

dollars, but because it wasn't done, it now will cost thousands of dollars

to replace the carpets.

A $100,000 grant secured by state Sen. ph Crisco will help pay for the

cleanup and a new carpet.

©Amity Observer 2002

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