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Read parent comments and two stories!
Mold forces classes to firehall
Chambersburg Public Opinion - Chambersburg,PA*
By ROXANN MILLER For Public Opinion
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/localnews/ci_6834108
On Friday about 175 St. Thomas Elementary students were moved to
temporary classrooms at the St. Thomas Volunteer Fire Company while
newly-discovered mold is being removed from a different part of the
elementary school.
St. Thomas Elementary School Principal Nadine Sanders said the
temporary classroom setup could be in place through next Thursday.
School officials became aware of the mold after a parent contacted
Sanders and a school nurse after the first day of school.
According to Sanders, she was contacted by a parent who was
concerned when her child had an asthma attack after returning home
at the end of the school day.
That parent asked if the mold had been removed from the school.
Sanders said the mold had been successfully removed from the pipe
insulation above the drop ceilings in the north wing - the newest
wing. INX Technology did the work in April and May. The mold
remediation cost approximately $16,900.
"We wanted to make sure that everything was safe for our students.
So, the maintenance and custodial staff, who had been trained over
the summer to inspect for mold, completed a visual inspection of the
old wing (the one the parent complained about) which has not been
treated for mold," Dr. Rebecca Erb, Tuscarora School District
Superintendent, said.
Analytical Laboratory Services, Inc., Harrisburg, then conducted air
quality testing of the area.
According to Sanders, ALS found that the air quality was not
hazardous but found that mold on the pipe insulation above the
ceiling tiles in the old (unremediated) wing.
From there, the maintenance and custodial staff completed a second
visual mold inspection of the entire building. Staff found 11
classrooms in the old (unremediated) wing contained mold on the
insulation above the ceiling tiles.
"Whenever condensation builds up on the pipes the moisture gets into
the insulation and causes mold to grow. Whenever they put new
insulation on the pipes in the new wing that was remediated last
spring, they used a product that was supposed to be resistant to
that," said Erb. "I don't know if there's any guarantee that it
won't happen again. That's why we had our staff trained to inspect
for mold to keep the students safe in the future."
ALS came in a second time to conduct more air testing. The
professionals found the air quality to be non-hazardous to students
and others occupying the space and found mold on the pipes.
The school board immediately approved awarding the bid to Tuckey's
Restoration, Inc., Carlisle for mold remediation. The work began on
Thursday at 5 p.m.
For the students still in the elementary school using classrooms not
being remediated, they are separated from the mold by closed doors
sealed with plastic.
For most of next school week, about 175 elementary children in
kindergarten and grades one, four and five will start their day in
the gym at the elementary school, return for lunch; and at the end
of the day to catch their school bus home. The majority of the day
will be spent at the fire station.
"We need to do something to thank them. They have been wonderful in
working with us over this cleanup," said Erb referring to the staff
at the fire station.
Sanders said that other than the initial report from the parent of
the student who had an asthma attack, there have been no other
health issues related to the mold.
Parents whose children attend St. Thomas Elementary School have
received three letters updating them on the mold remediation at the
school.
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More stories and comments:
Online today: Mold at school worries parents in Tuscarora School District
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/opinion/ci_6907922
Public Opinion Online
Comments contributed by readers of Public Opinion's Web site, www.publicopiniononline.com, include these comments about mold problems in Tuscarora School District. Students were moved to a fire hall recently because of mold in their school:
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We have had three children go to St. Thomas. Our first two missed a lot of school; they were always sick it seemed -- allergies, infections, rashes and asthma.
We were so happy when they went to the middle school and "outgrew" their allergies. Maybe we should have known something at the time. Seems kind of strange they were only sick during the year and "outgrew" their allergies between their fifth and sixth grades.
Our youngest had more severe problems and more symptoms and we had to find alternate means of education; it was only then we started to become aware that the problems may have something to do with the school.
Luckily, they all seem healthy now.
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This school had mold 15 years ago! ...The current principal is the one who showed me the reports of past inspections and said it was the custodians' responsibility to handle and this was almost a year before she was "surprised" to learn there was mold! How can she say she was surprised when they found mold last spring?
If you have someone assigned to handle the problem and reports of past inspections, I would tend to believe you are aware of it.
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If your child is coming home with headaches, breathing problems, rashes or some of this other stuff and you continue to send them back to this school there is something wrong with you.
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Our youngest was on an inhaler, nebulizer, allergy medicine, steroids and a nasal spray (at the same time!) and other stuff off and on. When he was removed from the school he was able to be removed from all these meds.
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Sounds like some kind of TV movie. Where is Erin Brockovich when you need her?
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Our grandson was removed from this school for his health; he does a computer school now.
I would be interested in how many other families have taken their children out of this school or have children in the school with mold-related illnesses.
I know of one family who moved because their children were always sick while attending that school.
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There are people who knew of the mold -- don't know why it was ignored. Maybe they didn't think it was a serious issue at the time. Look at the records of past "official" inspections. That alone should tell you they were aware of a continuing mold problem.
If there was a continuing problem, why didn't they have inspections more often? Because they didn't want to know. I do know more than a few parents have had meetings with leaders inside the district about the mold they supposedly didn't know about. A past district official with responsibility for this said that this school has had a mold problem for many years and will continue to have a mold problem due to environmental factors, age of some parts of the building and humidity and the only thing that will fix it is a new school. Maybe that is why they have tried to cover up the problem.
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We removed our child from St. Thomas Elementary after she was coming home with allergy symptoms and acquiring many colds and infections. These would clear up anytime she was out of school for a few days and she wasn't sick once over the summer.
We sent her to a private school one year and she missed one day. We home-schooled her two years and never had one cold or asthma attack; she no longer needed an inhaler or the seven other medications she was on when she went to that school.
She wanted to try to return to public school. The first week she had asthma attacks and her allergy symptoms came back. The doctor told us not to send her back.
You do what you think is best for your child, but everyone is aware of what is going on now. Also the administration knew for years they had mold and did nothing.
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If not for a few parents and Public Opinion, no one would have known about the mold last year. The board says it was unaware of the mold, and you would have to believe them until there is evidence to prove otherwise.
But I and some other parents and past employees know the current and past principals knew about the mold and that it was affecting the health of students and the past superintendent knew. ...
Growing children are very at risk to mold. If your child is experiencing any of these symptoms, please do not risk their long-term health and life. ... Oh, please, you people have got to be kidding. Do you honestly think that Mrs. Sanders or the board or anyone else would purposely risk the students' health to save a couple of bucks?
Mrs. Sanders is an excellent principal and loves those students. She has to or else she wouldn't do what she does for a living. Believe me, it's a thankless job; you get attacked more than you get praised. Everyday you come to work not knowing what you are walking into and everyone is quick to attack if you make a mistake.
Why don't we recognize the quick reaction she had to the issue. And why don't we recognize how the community was quick to pitch in and help so that our children can be in a safe environment. Let's praise and focus on that.
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