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"Parent Bob Morash stood to describe how his son, a recent Corona graduate, had just had an operation on a brain tumor and lost vision in one of his eyes. He said the doctor could offer no reason for the tumor and his family had no history of such illnesses." (The Arizona Republic)
Parents, students, staff share health fears at Corona
http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/0228tr-corona0229.html
Dianna M. Náñez
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 28, 2008 02:35 PM
A forum organized to ease the minds of the Corona del Sol High School community turned to outrage as teachers, parents and students stood one after another to describe tumors, cancers, asthma attacks and other diseases plaguing their bodies since coming to the school.
The Tempe Union High School District had hoped to quell fears and rumors about an aging ventilation system partly to blame, according to a 2006 health study, for causing mold, raising carbon dioxide levels and spurring health complaints from staff.
The district has cleaned up mold but was denied emergency funds from the state to repair the ventilation system, which officilas say will cost some $17 million.
The school was built in the 1970s received federal funding to incorporate solar technology. The lack of airflow due to the unique design is to blame for the school's air-quality problems, according to Health Effects Group.
Superintendent Steve Adolph contacted the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, an insurance company for state schools, after receiving staff complaints in 2006 about the school possibly making people sick. The insurance company commissioned Health Effects Group to do a study, which was paid for by the district and insurance company, according to district spokeswoman Linda Littell.
The study showed mold potentially existed in several areas, including the school's preschool and a men's restroom, as well as in hallway and classroom carpets. Though the mold was not elevated beyond normal levels, according to the study, recommendations were made to have professionals clean the mold, replace the carpet and repair the ventilation system.
The district has since spent millions replacing hallway carpet and cleaning mold, but has not been able to afford replacing the ventilation system or removing the carpet in classrooms.
Adolph, representatives from Corona, Health Effects Group and attorneys for the district took turns during Wednesday's meeting explaining that the school was safe.
But parents' fears and indignation boiled over as a Health Effects Group representative explained that their study found the school's carbon dioxide levels exceeded by up to four times the nationally recommended levels. The crowd was audibly enraged as teachers spoke of at least eight co-workers with benign brain tumors and students described coughing, lethargy "and colds that never seem to end."
Resident A.J. Lafaro said he blamed the Legislature for not fully funding building renewal funds for schools to make repairs. According to attorney Tim Hogan, the school would have nearly $13 million to complete the repairs if the Legislature had not voted to short the state schools funding. Hogan is representing the district in a lawsuit it joined this month against the state after Corona was denied emergency funds.
"This is not a taxpayer problem. This is a Legislature (problem). Where is . . . District 17 and 20 representatives," Lafaro asked.
District 17 representative Meg Burton Cahill was the only one to announce her presence.
"We don't have the numbers (of votes)," she said. "We need (legislators) who do more than say they support schools. We need (legislators) who say they support funding schools."
Parent Bob Morash stood to describe how his son, a recent Corona graduate, had just had an operation on a brain tumor and lost vision in one of his eyes. He said the doctor could offer no reason for the tumor and his family had no history of such illnesses.
"How many other kids are going to come down with that?" he asked. "There's something very wrong here."
David Phares, whose wife Karen has taught at Corona since 1991, described her life since she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. Cindy Glick and several other teachers asked why illnesses were not being documented and studied.
Shannon Newton, a Health Effects industrial hygienist, sparked a second wave of anger when she informed the audience that Health Effects proposed exactly that following its 2006 study, but that the proposal was not funded.
Julie Ormston of the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, in an interview immediately following the forum, acknowledged she had attended a meeting at the school with Newton and was aware of the recommendation to study illnesses. Ormston said she did not know whether the insurance company had declined to fund the study.
Yvonne Lynch, also with the insurance company, also said she did not know whether the study was formally denied. She said the trust "provided payment for the studies that were in regards to the building because that's the type of study we provide payment for."
Resident Laura Brem, whose son graduated recently from Corona and whose daughter attends the school, said after hearing illnesses had been reported to the state and district for years, she no longer trusted that they would put safety before money.
"You guys should have been telling us . . . you were risking the safety of my child, your children and every other child that goes to this school since 2001," she said. "You tell us about staph infections . . . lice. Why not this? I will not allow (my daughter) back into that school."
Adolph said his own daughter had attended the school and he had taught at Corona for more than a decade.
"If I believed . . . for one minute . . . that the health of any students or staff was in danger, I'd have closed this school down," he said.
Kathy Cunningham, one of the last speakers of the evening and a mother of a special-needs child at the school, described grand mal seizures her son had started having since attending the school four years ago.
"He will never make it to his graduation date," she said to Adolph. "Will you help me . . . will you help me transfer (him)?"
Although Adolph repeated that there was no proof the school was causing illnesses, he said the district would help parents and teachers switch schools if they wanted to.
Littell confirmed Thursday that a handful of parents had made arrangements to move their children but no teachers had yet done so.
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MORE ON THIS TOPIC
Read the study
The Tempe Union High School District has posted the Health Effects Group study of Corona del Sol online at www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/insidetuhsd/ HealthEffectsGroupReport.pdf.
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NoMoreMoldDelete00rate comment:
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Posted Mar-02
11:40 AMThese parents, teachers, and administrators are right to be concerned about the health aspects of mold in schools - go to www.schoolmoldhelp.org - Information - Sick Building Symptoms to learn more. On the first page of the site is a 1.5 hour podcast about School Mold that will inform the public about this national problem: http://www.schoolmoldhelp.o...
Turbo999Report abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-29
9:50 PM
No one found the report to be inaccurate on the mold issue. Corona indoor mold levels were only a fraction of normal air levels.
The issue is elevated levels of carbon dioxide. If they can't open a window, have someone drill some vent holes in each room.
The district is getting fleeced by the hysterical few. You don't get brain cancer from these modestly elevated levels of carbon dioxide.
They just need some fresh air. As for the gunk they vaccumed out of the carpet, it wasn't as bad as the stuff your kids are crawling around in at home if you have pets.
ecbReport abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-29
7:50 PMI attended the meeting Wednesday evening at my sons request...I really didn't know why I was there...he has complained of classrooms being uncomfortable and odors..his allergies have been worse than previous years..He is a Sophomore. I went for information and discovered that the school buildings are sick..I will discuss his
this with him to see if he wants to continue at CDS. My other concern is the Tempe area that feeds into this school...it is an impacted school so only residents in the defined area can attend.. is the problem in the community or the school?
Steve1966Report abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-29
5:42 PMTim999 wake up and smell the mold... there are no windows! Further the report has been found to be inaccurate by the district and by the Health Effects Group.
KathyinChandlerReport abuse01rate comment:
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Posted Feb-29
5:30 PMThere are no windows....the school provides outdoor protable classrooms and NO windows in most classrooms.
tim999Report abuse11rate comment:
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Posted Feb-29
5:02 PM
Read the report - mold levels are infintessimally small, much smaller than out of doors. No mold problem.
Carbon dioxide is higher than out of doors - open a window, which they are probably doing already.
gdogggReport abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-29
1:57 PMI am a teacher at corona del sol and both of my children have attended cds. If I had known then, what I know now, I would have NEVER had them attend this high school. Their lives will forever be changed from the qaulity of the air in ALL the buildings. One of my children ended up with a thyroid tumor and both of them have auto-immune disease. I also ended up with a uterine tumor and chronic sinus infections which required 3 surgeries. Between the surgeries and the overuse of antibiotics, the damage to our bodies has been extensive. Just because someone says that they don't feel sick at this school- should not take away from the real health issues that other people are suffering with. I am guarenteed 2 things at the end of every work day. One is a migraine headache and the other is the lack of help that our district and state have provided.
bluerose84Report abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-29
1:49 PMI graduated in 2002 and now I have a sister who is a freshman, she complains about the stale smell all the time. I was hoping that they would have gotten this corrected a long time ago. They need to shut the school down and bus the students somewhere else. There is no possible way of students to learning anything in those classrooms while holding their breath, afraid that they to will get sick.
gamebrat65Report abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-29
11:53 AMMy son is going to be a 2nd year senior at Corona because he had too many absences last year and was dropped from some of his classes. He comes home frequently with a headache, he sleeps all afternoon, he sometimes throws up in the mornings. I keep taking him to the doctor who can't find a reason for his symptoms. He used to be a very lively child until he started attending Corona.
upchurchnReport abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-29
11:18 AMMy daughter is very concerned with the sick air. She attends as a sophomore, and although I do not believe her health has suffered, she has complained of the stale air and smell long before any of this became newsworthy.
I hope that the funding can be made available through the bonds, but in the meantime, I would think we parents can perhaps supply a plant in a pot with saucer. There are some houseplants that do well in low light and would present little problems to our allergy-prone children.
Having moved deliberately to a Corona district home, here's hoping I do not end up moving my kid away!
coronababyReport abuse12rate comment:
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Posted Feb-28
10:43 PMi am a current student at corona and i truly believe that the state needs to help fund our school. There are many students and teachers that are becoming very ill. Some of my friends including myself are fatigued at the end of the day and we feel dizzy at times. all i know is that something needs to be done... IMEDIATELY!!!
a close friend of my died earlier this year because she had sever athsma and i believe that maybe the poor air quality and conditions in our school may have played a part in the death of my friend alexis. just something to think about!
SchoolNurseReport abuse03rate comment:
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Posted Feb-28
9:16 PMThe gentleman quoted above is correct, this is due to the AZ Legislature refusing to decently fund public education! AZ consistently ranks 48-49th in educational funding. Districts do not have $17 mil to pull out of their (inappropriate term) to fix things like this. (And let me add, Tempe Unified is not my district. We are all in the same boat.)
azdi88Report abuse13rate comment:
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Posted Feb-28
8:57 PMCorona is not alone...I think everyone would be shocked how many other schools in the valley that are experiencing the same problems without anyone doing very much about it. This state is so "cheap" when it comes to education! I also think the Board of Education and the state hold some responsibility in this as well as the district.
theboogiemanReport abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-28
8:53 PM"Adolph said his own daughter had attended the school and he had taught at Corona for more than a decade."
But would he let his daughter attend Corona Del Sol High School now?
theboogiemanReport abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-28
8:07 PMI think it's time for a criminal investigation either by Arizona Attorney Terry Goddard or Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. The school district has known about the problems for years. o telling how many people have fallen ill or died because of the Tempe Union High School District decision not to act and protect the students, staff and teachers who had to occupy this dirty and unsafe environment. Talk about child abuse! Somebody needs to go to jail!
jess0324Report abuse00rate comment:
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Posted Feb-28
6:07 PMI went to Corona for one year in 1997. It was rotting then. I can't imagine what it's like now.
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