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Watch a TV news story and read the local Houston news account of this profoundly moldy, damp building that has been declared finally ready for students. However, parents, a member of Congress, and many others in the community feel it is not ready, and in fact, is still under construction (SMH).
Click here to read an exclusive interview with the Houston Federation of Teachers Union President, Gayle Fallon, about the problems in the school that led to twenty emergency room trips by teachers and illnesses among school visitors, parents, and students.
Key Middle School ready to reopen http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080325_tnt_keymiddleschool.27335bcc.html
07:04 AM CDT on Wednesday, March 26, 2008
By Carolyn Campbell / 11 News
Watch the video!
Video: Carolyn Campbell's 11 News report After more than five months of repairs and renovations to address air quality problems, Key Middle School will once again open for business.
Longtime principal Mable Caleb led a media tour of the school Tuesday – no face masks required.
But last October, politicians and others covered their faces as they toured the building after more than a dozen teachers and staff members were taken away by ambulance.
“As being principal here for 16 years, what I identified was that we were not psychologically impaired, that these individuals were really ill, including the students,” Caleb said.
And despite some critics’ claims that HISD simply painted over mold, project manager Willie Burroughs said the problems have been addressed.
One of the biggest jobs was work done on the air conditioning and ventilation system. The classrooms were cleaned, carpet was removed and books in the library were replaced.
“We feel pretty good that we’ve gotten it taken care of,” Burroughs said.
Even though the principal faults the school for some of her own health problems, she says the building is ready.
“What I feel good about is that HISD finally stepped up to really realize there was something wrong with the building,” she said.
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Chronicle
March 25, 2008, 8:55PM
Key Middle School declared safe for classes
By ERICKA MELLON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
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Air quality monitor's letter to HISD about reoccupancy Houston's Key Middle School is ready and safe for students to return Wednesday morning, with three suspect rooms passing final air-quality tests Tuesday afternoon.
Tests by Building Air Quality Inc., a private company hired by the Houston Independent School District, have cleared Key for mold or other air-quality problems, said district spokesman Terry Abbott.
The northeast Houston campus has undergone mold remediation and other renovations over the past several months after numerous employees and students reported feeling sick there — with some teachers even going to hospitals by ambulance.
After protests from parents, politicians and community leaders, HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra agreed in late September to temporarily send the estimated 600 students and staff from Key to Fleming Middle School.
Key Principal Mable Caleb was one of the employees who previously reported symptoms similar to allergies while inside Key. On Tuesday, while touring the building with reporters and television cameras, she said she feels much better.
"I feel really good about the building," Caleb said. "I have not become ill. That's good."
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NoMoreSchoolMold wrote:
Question: Is this the same company, paid $50K then, that had no concerns and found the building to be healthy, when the staff and kids were ill, prior to construction?
If only air testing was conducted in limited areas, this is insufficient to draw conclusions - about those areas and the rest of the building(s). Go to www.schoolmoldhelp.org, visit Information - About Testing for more info.
We recommend self-testing be repeated, including ERMI testing for fungal DNA (see www.mycometrics.com) by the teachers, once again. Testing for airborne spores is old-school testing that has been proven to be invalid.
Read Pathophysiology of Illness Caused by Exposure to Water-Damaged Buildings (Shoemaker & Lin, 2008), with a description of why ERMI testing, developed by the EPA, is superior to counting airborne spores, at: https://www.schoolmoldhelp.org/content/view/1066/66/
3/26/2008 11:56 AM CDT
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dustbuster wrote:
$3 million dollars in renovations just because you can get Quannel to show up? Pretty sweet deal. What about all of the other HISD schools that are falling apart and moldy?
3/26/2008 7:23 AM CDT
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dcsports wrote:
$3 Million was reported earlier.
3/25/2008 10:09 PM CDT
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ItsMine wrote:
I think QX can go home now. Show's over, folks!
3/25/2008 8:37 PM CDT
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headshaker wrote:
Brian77008 - that's pretty funny.
3/25/2008 8:21 PM CDT
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Porkporkpork wrote:
nonews, I'm afraid my "block" is about five miles north-south and three going east-west. Unless the javelinas root in my plants, I think I'm okay from crime!
3/25/2008 8:04 PM CDT
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LMay4111 wrote:
Air test must be completed on the entire school and I know for a fact that they can not do and get all the results in an afternoon where are the published test results
3/25/2008 7:34 PM CDT
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Brian77008_ wrote:
Its not safe until Quannel X says its safe!
3/25/2008 7:31 PM CDT
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nonewsisgoodnews wrote:
Porkporkpork says "that part of town" has gangs, drugs, and crime...just like porkporkpork's own neighborhood...except on his block the thugs have blonde hair and blue eyes...he feels safer around "white trash"...but thugs are thugs, regardless of their color.
3/25/2008 6:33 PM CDT
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duckyq wrote:
Until the bullet proof glass, Kevlar walls and panic rooms are installed....I wouldn't go anywhere near the place.
3/25/2008 6:02 PM CDT
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Porkporkpork wrote:
They're safe from mold, but are they safe from gangs, drugs, and crime? After all, it is in that part of town...
3/25/2008 5:54 PM CDT
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txstarrider wrote:
Bet they still complain that their so-called symptoms (allergies) are back. Any takers?
3/25/2008 4:38 PM CDT
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txstarrider wrote:
To nonewsisgoodnews:
Number of lazy hogs that were loaded into ambulances due to their alleged "symptoms".......A LOT!
Number of kids going to that school who actually want to learn and not blame the man for everything......2
Number of parents in that area who care enough to be involved in their kids' schooling and what goes on in their lives...ZERO!
I'm sure they'll cry racism and get a new school, that's what they wanted to begin with. This was nothing more than a political game because HISD was floating a bond issue at the time.
3/25/2008 4:37 PM CDT
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clr55 wrote:
Yeah, but where is the final report frmom the CDC on the original problem??
3/25/2008 3:22 PM CDT
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