The Center for School Mold Help

 "More than 80 students, some wearing paper face masks, held a demonstration outside of Westview High School this morning to protest a mold problem they believe is making them sick...." View video coverage, several news stories, and read parent announcements here....

Photos by WPSD-TV

Video coverage: A Show Of Support For Mold Protest

http://www.wpsdtv.com/mediacenter/local.aspx

Students protest mold at Westview High School
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070924/NEWS01/70924012

By TAJUANA CHESHIER
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MARTIN — More than 80 students, some wearing paper face masks, held a demonstration outside of Westview High School this morning to protest a mold problem they believe is making them sick.
The protest falls just days after the parents of a Westview student filed a lawsuit against the school system, Superintendent Richard Barber, H&M Construction Inc., air quality professionals and Weakley County following their son's illness. The parents believe his illness is connected to mold he was exposed to while attending school.

  
According to the lawsuit, Richard and Julie Joost cite that school officials have neglected to handle a mold problem, which has persisted for years, and has affected their son's health since November 2004.

The Joosts said their son began experiencing 26 symptoms that he never had before — such as respiratory infections, sinus infections, ear infections, skin infections and vomiting.

The Joosts are requesting in the lawsuit that a permanent injunction be ordered against the school to discontinue classes at the location until proof is provided that the building is free of toxic mold. They're also asking for unspecified punitive damages and legal fees.

One of the school system's attorneys — Jason Pannu from the law firm of Lewis King in Nashville — was on Westview's campus today. He said a study of certain areas in the school had been completed.

"Tests have been done in selective areas," Pannu said. "And there was evidence of a small amount of mold that can easily be remedied, but it was not excessive amounts."

Barber said that areas in the school have been cleaned.

— Tajuana Cheshier, (731) 425-9643

Read more about this story in Tuesday's edition of The Jackson Sun.

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From a local witness:

Parents, family & friends,

The Westview High Student Protest was a success!  About 100 or so students, parents & community members came to support our kids.  The Martin Chief of Police, Davd Moore, was on site to ensure & protect their right to protest. Nobody was suspended and everyone behaved! 

Representatives from Channel 6, WCMT, Jackson Sun and Weakley Co. Press were on hand to document the event.

There was press conference at 8:15, in which Superintendent Barber made a statement to the press & public and fielded questions from parents and students.  Most in the room were disatisfied with the answers and there were no specifics on actual clean up.  When asked directly to provide a timeline, he did not respond to mine and others' satisfaction.

Be on the lookout for more information and time/date for a parent meeting to discuss further action.

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http://www.wpsdtv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d34eed5d-4a73-4edf-87f0-64195a66dfe7
Students Protest Against Mold In School
Reported by: Todd Faulkner
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Last Update: 12:49 pm 

Parents of a Westview High School student in northwest Tennessee have filed a lawsuit against the school district over alleged mold contamination in the school.
 
Richard and Julie Joost say the mold is responsible for their son Caleb's failing health.

Other students and parents are concerned about what they say is a mold issue in the school.

This morning students and parents demonstrated outside the high school. The group protested what they're calling the administration's failure to clean the school and get rid the mold. They held signs and covered their faces with masks.

The students say you can see the mold in classrooms, the cafeteria, and on lockers and it is making them sick.
 
Administrators say there was a mold issue, they dealt with it and will clean up any additional mold found in the school.

 “We have to go in there, we have to eat, we have to drink, we have to learn. I want to be in an environment where it's safe for us to do that,” said one student.

"If there's other areas in this building that needs to be cleaned up, if there's other things that need to be done we will take whatever measures that is determined by those people that ought to be knowledgeable of what needs to be done and get that done," said Richard Barber, Weakley County Director of Schools.

After the news conference and a question and answer session students lead NewsChannel 6 around and pointed out some of the mold.

Tonight at 5 we'll take a look at that video and hear what parents say it will take to make them feel safe about sending their kids to school.

To see more stories please visit http://www.wpsdtv.com

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Students: Westview has mold problem
Tuesday, September 25, 2007    
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070925/NEWS01/709250310 

By TAJUANA CHESHIER
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MARTIN - Westview High School students want to see more action from the Weakley County School Board to address a mold problem they believe has persisted in their school for several years.
"We want a professional to come in and clean it up," said 17-year-old senior Griffin Pochop. "They need to speed up the process."

  
Along with Pochop, more than 80 students protested outside the school Monday morning. They later met with Weakley County Schools Superintendent Richard Barber.

"We had a cleaning crew contracted," and areas of the school have been cleaned, Barber said Monday. Barber would not comment on the specifics of what was done in the building. He declined to say anything further because a lawsuit is pending.
One student and his parents, Richard and Julie Joost, filed the lawsuit against Barber, the Board of Education, Weakley County, H&M Construction Inc. and air quality professionals. The names of the air quality professionals aren't listed in the suit. H&M is listed in the suit as a contractor for the 10-year-old school building.

According to the lawsuit, the Joosts believe their son's poor medical condition can be connected to mold he was exposed to while attending school from November 2004 until May 2007. Their son no longer attends Westview.

The Joosts said their son began experiencing 26 symptoms he never had before he attended Westview. The symptoms included respiratory infections, sinus infections, ear infections, skin infections and vomiting.

In the suit, the Joosts are asking that a permanent injunction be ordered against the school to discontinue classes at that location until proof is provided that the building is free of toxic mold. The suit also asks for unspecified punitive damages and legal fees.

One of the school system's attorneys, Jason Pannu from the Nashville law firm Lewis King, was on Westview's campus Monday. He said a study of certain areas in the school had been completed.

"Tests have been done in selective areas," Pannu said. "And there was evidence of a small amount of mold that can easily be remedied, but it was not excessive amounts."

Pannu declined to comment further on the allegations in the lawsuit.

Last month, the school system hired Elliott Horner, of Air Quality Sciences, to test the school for mold. Meanwhile, the Joosts hired Richard Lipsey, of Lipsey & Associates, to conduct independent tests of the school.

Lipsey and Horner both specialize in testing for mold and went to the school on Aug. 9 to conduct their separate tests.

In the lawsuit, Lipsey said Horner's toxicology results are different from what he discovered at Westview.

Lipsey said in his affidavit that Horner's method of sampling does not give a picture of what's really in the school.

Lipsey said his tests found toxic forms of mold in the school. He said the tests came back positive for mold forms including aspergillus, fusarium, penicillium and stachybotrys.

According to the lawsuit, Westview High School experienced a malfunction with its heating ventilation and air-conditioning system during the summer of 1998 that caused water to infiltrate the building.

Following the malfunction, school officials discovered vent covers, walls, floors and other fixtures covered with a slime substance, the lawsuit states. The "slime substance" was the presence of mold, plaintiffs said.

According to the school's Web site, about 650 students attend Westview High School.

School officials praised students for conducting a peaceful protest Monday morning. After it was over, they asked the students to return to their classrooms.

"I'm not going back to class," said Tamika Sanchez, 16, a sophomore at Westview. "Every class has mold in it. I come home every day feeling nauseous or with a sore throat and headache. My mother supports me in this, and I'd rather be suspended than be here."

Senior Chad White, 17, said students protested because "this issue is too important; we have to say something."

Another senior, Lerosha McDonald, said, "a lot of us can't breathe."

No students were punished for participating in the protest, said Carol Hinman, Griffin Pochop's mother.

Hinman came to the protest in support of students, and she plans to take additional actions to protect her son, Griffin, who she said is allergic to mold.

"I've done some research, and Tennessee does not have indoor air-quality control," Hinman said. "We don't have air standards, so we need to create some legislation."

On the Net:

www.schoolmoldhelp.org

www.weakleycountyschools.com

Visit jacksonsun.com and share your thoughts.

- Tajuana Cheshier, 425-9643

 
ForHim

Joined: 25 Sep 2007
Posts: 1

 Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 10:45 am    Post subject: Westview Mold 

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I know that in a day when lawsuits are filed for everything a story like this can be overlooked as just another attempt for money. But, I can tell you that this situation is as real as they come. I too have talked to people involved and know the family and their child who has been infected by the mold at Westview. He was one of the healthiest kids I know. He was athletic, he ran daily, ate right, the whole nine yards. This summer I also sat in a hospital room as he awaited surgery to have a port placed in his chest. This port now delievers a daily dose of medication through on IV bag into this senior student. The mold that he is infected with is not the same thing that comes from mowing your yard...it is dangerous and damaging. I would like to know why the school has only sampled selective areas and why they earlier denied entry to testing of the school by an independent person. Westview is not dealing with the problem they are attempting to blur the truth, discredit a family and go on with buisness as usual while students continue to be exposed to this toxic mold.
 
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interesting

Joined: 03 Feb 2007
Posts: 436

 Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 10:56 am    Post subject:  

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While I do not know the family involved in this lawsuit, I lived in that area until recently and still have friends there. The mold problem is indeed real and has existed in other schools in Martin as well. Several years ago the mold was so prevalent in a classroom at the primary school that a family with a child in the classroom paid for the cleaning and the carpeting to be disposed of because their child was so sick. I understand mold happens, but schools must be more attentive to its existence and removal.
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NoMoreSchoolMold

Joined: 25 Sep 2007
Posts: 1
Location: La Mesa, CA
 Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 10:59 am    Post subject: School Mold Information   

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Comprehensive School Mold information is found online at The Center for School Mold Help website: www.schoolmoldhelp.org. On our first page you will find a link to news and parent commentary, as well as meeting information.

This is a real problem, as ForHim described. Building molds are responsible for much serious illness. Learn more on our Information -FAQ, Sick Building Symptoms and Mold Research pages.

Remediation is NOT cleaning. No wonder the problem still exists. Read our Remediation page entirely, to see what needs to be done. As with the 9/11 workers, you will not find much governmental help or truth on this topic, it is too political - the government information falls short of current research and industry standards.

Susan Brinchman
Director, Center for School Mold Help
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School Mold Harms America! Let's ensure that our schools are healthy!