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"Jackson Lee said the campus has "unhealthful conditions". "(Houston Chronicle)..."even last week's review tour evidenced people who were getting sick." (Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, KRTK tv)
Despite the above, Houston Independent School District plans to send the students and teachers back to Key Middle School on March 25th. We hope those teachers and students whose health will be at risk will not allow further damage to be done. We call upon the teachers union to refuse to allow their workers in an unsafe building. (SMH)
Houston & Texas News
March 15, 2008, 9:46PM
Residents wary of plan to reopen Key Middle
By JENNIFER LEAHY
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Comments (5) Recommend (1)
Community activists expressed concern Saturday about reopening Key Middle School, despite repeated reassurances from Houston Independent School District officials that the campus is safe and that the majority of the facility has passed air-quality inspection.
At a Saturday night community meeting at New Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said the campus is not ready for students to return March 26.
Jackson Lee said the campus has "unhealthful conditions" and is calling for temporary buildings. Like others, she would like HISD to replace the building.
Parent Jessica Johnson said she's concerned that "Band-Aid" methods are being used to fix the campus.
Her son is among 600-plus students and staff from Key who have been housed at nearby Fleming Middle School since September.
"Any child, in any public school, deserves to be in a safe environment with healthy air to breathe," Johnson said.
HISD spokesman Terry Abbott disputed claims that the campus is unsafe, saying that air quality tests indicate that repairs to the annex and main building have eliminated mold spores found by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The district has made about $3 million in improvements to the campus, including asbestos removal and the installation of new vinyl flooring and anti-microbial carpeting. It also replaced water-damaged ceiling tiles, disinfected ventilators and replaced all textbooks and library books, district officials said.
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NoMoreSchoolMold wrote:
Some of the worst exposures come after improper remediations that stir up mold. This is a school district that has repeatedly claimed there was no problem to begin with. How, then, can they be trusted to do this job of mold remediation correctly? If they didn't remediate but simply addressed sources of moisture and conducted carpentry, this would not be considered mold remediation. For more information on what SHOULD have been done, go to www.schoolmoldhelp.org - Information - Remediation. Ask the district to outline (and prove with public documents of what was planned and paid for, who did it, etc.) what they did do on the building. Not verbal. If you don't consider it safe, demand alternatives.
3/16/2008 3:09 PM CDT
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OJSIMPSON wrote:
HERE IS THE SOLUTION TO ALL YOU HISD WOES!!!!!
Close the school and sell the land to some rich developer and make back the 3mil plus... Then you keep those kids at flemming and fire 24 teachers from Key and reassign the administrators and support staff...That way you kill two birds with one stone...Wow with thinking like this I could be an HISD Official...
3/16/2008 9:54 AM CDT
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dancefan21 wrote:
SJL is there, where's the TV camera?
3/16/2008 8:49 AM CDT
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Nan1964 wrote:
3 million must not be enough; let's replace the building! No wait: Let's close it!
3/16/2008 8:45 AM CDT
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dumbfounded wrote:
Should have known that Lee knows all about air quality too.These people find more excuses for what??Open the damn windows and go back to school...quit bitching!!!
3/16/2008 5:53 AM CDT
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Local
Leaders gather to discuss HISD concernsSaturday, March 15, 2008 | 8:39 PM
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6022828
By Cynthia CisnerosHOUSTON (KTRK) --
(go to URL above for video of this broadcast)
Community leaders are now coming together, upset about the possible consolidation of HISD schools. And they want answers.
Earlier this week, HISD decided to lay off 22 teachers from schools with lowered enrollment. They're also asking questions about Key Middle School.
It's a problem that has been brewing for several months, especially since consolidations were proposed several months ago.
While community leaders condone HISD being fiscally responsible, they don't want to lose jobs or even close schools that are considered essential to the neighborhood. One of those schools is Key Middle School. Leaders say it is considered essential to the neighborhood.
Story continues belowAdvertisementKey Middle school was closed down earlier this year when a mold problem was blamed for several health problems among staff members and students. While Key Middle School was closed, students on the campus were transferred to nearby Fleming Middle School.
HISD says it has cleaned out Key Middle School and it will be ready for students to re-enter after spring break. But community leaders remain concerned about whether the HISD superintendent is doing what is best for neighborhood schools. This is an issue they wanted to discuss and they wanted to tell school leaders that Key Middle School is not a healthy building.
"We believe that we need to take a second look at asking for new construction. In fact, our commitment is still to new construction," said US Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (D) Houston. "But secondarily, we need an alternative to re-entering the Key Middle School, even last week's review tour evidenced people who were getting sick."
The group leaders say they also want a definite plan from HISD for opening and closing schools. About 100 local pastors, we're told, have formed a task force to look at this issue. One HISD board trustee who is on board is Carol Galloway.
In the meantime, Key Middle School is set to reopen after spring break on March 26.
HISD has nearly 200,000 students in the district and more than 12,500 teachers. The administration oversees 300 schools.
- Headlines at a glance
(Copyright ©2008 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) |
