The Center for School Mold Help

 (SMH Note: To read the mold analysis (as a .pdf) for the samples taken by the teachers' union, click here. This document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view - for a free download of that software, click here.)

To read an article that appeared in the Houston Chronicle on Oct. 19th, and 77 comments made on that article on the chron.com site,  see below. We salute the Houston Chronicle for keeping this school in the news - the public needs to closely follow what happens in a moldy school that has been said to harm hundreds.

The comments show that many don't understand that this school had serious problems with leaks, as in profuse leaks and standing water, etc., inside, rather than a humidity problem.

One of the best comments is from Gayle Fallon, President of the Houston Federation of Teachers, a union leader we admire tremendously, at The Center for School Mold Help, for supporting her union members when they became seriously ill from the dangerous environmental conditions at Key Middle School. This is her comment,

"gayle2415 wrote:

 Health & Medicine  

Oct. 19, 2007, 2:47PM
Mold at Key confirmed, but HISD taking action, CDC says
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/health/5226755.html

By ERICKA MELLON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

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Read the complete CDC letter Federal air-quality experts confirmed the presence of mold at Key Middle School but said the Houston school district is taking positive steps to improve conditions there, according to a letter released today.

The two experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also urged district officials to continue monitoring the ventilation units at Key and to communicate better with employees at the northeast Houston campus about their efforts.

The three-page letter from Nancy Burton, an industrial hygiene specialist, and John Gibbins, an epidemiologist, did not address whether the mold found at Key was unsafe or whether it could have caused the illnesses reported by numerous employees and students.

But Burton told the Houston Chronicle last month that the damp conditions at Key could have caused illnesses, especially in people with sensitive allergies. Burton and Gibbins, who work for the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, could not be reached for comment today.

The pair spent two days in late September meeting with Key employees and district officials. They conducted what they called a "walk-through tour" of the school and took three samples — in the teachers' lounge and in one classroom — for fungal analysis.

After reviewing data and further interviewing Key employees by phone, they will issue a complete report, the letter stated.

The students and staff from Key have been at nearby Fleming Middle School since Sept. 26.

The Houston Federation of Teachers had been asking the district to abandon Key for three weeks, but Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra initially said that was unnecessary because tests by an independent contractor and city inspectors did not find unsafe levels of mold.

Saavedra agreed to the move after U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, asked federal inspectors to visit Key. Saavedra then issued a formal invitation to the CDC.

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 VincentOMoh wrote:
We operate on an innocent until proven guilty model here. HISD is innocent of mold charges UNLESS one can prove that mold WAS a safety threat.
10/20/2007 3:27:19 AM
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  Hadenough wrote:
OJSIMPSON.... I'm still waiting on the answer to my question. Were the temporary buildings ordered before or after Quanell X's appearance?
10/19/2007 8:08:57 PM
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  Hadenough wrote:
It is really sad that the CDC had to tell HISD to communicate with the people in the building.(Key MS, and that is one of their recommendations. Would not the plant operator, who has been there for a number of years, know the building environment better than anyone.

This is what happens when TOP BRASS, refuses to acknowledge/communicate with the people they(HISD) have in place and choose to go outside for imformation.

10/19/2007 8:00:27 PM
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  alastrina wrote:
Gayle, thank you so much for sending samples to an undisclosed location. It is wonderful that the union could find the right company to survey the mold. It is very unfortunate that HISD could not hire them as well, or that the city government found nothing wrong (didn't the city come too?). I think the company that has the secret answer should come forward with the batch that was found and give it to the CDC. They should also report to the Chronicle. Furthermore, the CDC could prevent HISD from entering the building until several more weeks have gone by and by then the strains of mold should begin to reappear. . .enough for a CDC sample.

The CDC should continue their evaluations to the homes of the teachers as well because it could have been a combination of molds. Remember, in science, there are so many variables.

Gayle and others, what should HISD have done when they hired places that deemed the place safe?
10/19/2007 7:50:26 PM
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  VincentOMoh wrote:
CaseyJones said: "What about the unspecifieds,and native alaskans,why does HISD refuse to allow unspecifieds,and native alaskans in their schools? RACISTS!!!!!!
Why is nobody fighting for their rights?"

Hahahahahah! That's funny :)

In Texas all people choose a race, though I dunno what a "default" is.

Native Alaskans are usually placed in the Native American category.
10/19/2007 5:33:11 PM
 
  DDH wrote:
Well, that doesn't say much. Heck, I can tell you I have a presence of mold in my brand new home. It's everywhere. Heck, most people's cars have it if they use their air conditioning and don't set the controller to the "off" position everytime they park their car. Are people falling ill left and right due to it? I doubt it. This tells us so little about whether it was enough to cause severe and drastic illness or not.
10/18/2007 6:31:10 PM
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  9er wrote:
There is no mold free area in Houston. It sounds like nothing was found out of the ordinary at Key.
10/18/2007 6:44:27 PM
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  huh_what wrote:
Mold? Was it Black Mold?
Outside of that, it's like saying the bathtub makes people sick...
10/18/2007 8:29:27 PM
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  benher2 wrote:
Now ABELARDO SAAVEDRA ISNT AFRAID OF THE CDC! HE HAS A VAGINA AND SO DO ALL THE MEN THAT WORK FOR THAT ORGANIZATION! AND ABEL HAS FAKE CREDENTIALS TOO! CANT EVEN DO SIMPLE MATH ITS ALL A JOKE! HE IS A CANNIBAL AND THATS THE ONLY REQUIREMENT NEEDED TO BE SUPERINTENDANT!
10/18/2007 8:32:21 PM
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  Moblack wrote:
Formal invitation? C'mon they don't need one Abe.
10/18/2007 8:39:58 PM
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  Golf wrote:
One thing I have to add is that during the summer season or whenever a school is closed. The air conditioning system is set to the "energy saving mode" which means it can be hot when no one is around. Another way to save on cost but the trade off is that molds love humidity and can become rampant during energy saving mode. For a lot of teachers, parents, and kids...usually they will notice the smell when everyone goes back to school. Have you noticed it yourself if you ever brought your kids to the first day of school?

True, mold is everywhere but it can be controlled.
10/18/2007 9:37:49 PM
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  swtxgal66 wrote:
What building in the humid city doesn't have mold? GET OVER IT!
10/18/2007 9:41:41 PM
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  ItsMine wrote:
Problem is solving...you will be coming home soon, just as you condemn, criticize and complain for it. Thanks to Dale, you know **huh...**?
10/18/2007 10:09:16 PM
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  Caseyatbat wrote:
I am going to post the press release sent out by HISD. See how fair you think the Chronicle reporting and headline are.

Statement on Interim Letter Summarizing Preliminary Findings and Recommendations from the CDC

October 18, 2007

HISD has received an “interim letter” which “summarizes preliminary findings and recommendations” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, regarding the air quality issues at Key Middle School. The CDC’s letter says the investigation is not complete.

The preliminary findings by the CDC are consistent with the findings of independent indoor air quality experts hired by HISD to test the building, and also consistent with the findings of HISD’s own in-house air quality experts. Those findings previously were released to the public and the media.

Consistent with what HISD and independent consultants had previously reported, the CDC interim letter did confirm the presence of observed mold but did not characterize the observed quantities as excessive or hazardous. Consistent with the findings of the consultants hired by HISD in their repeated testing, the CDC team found “isolated microbial” mold growth and “visible mold” in the school, as commonly observed in buildings in Texas including schools.

The independent air quality experts from ICU, retained by HISD to test the school for mold and other agents, reported twice in September the presence of mold -- airborne “microbial” agents -- but determined the amount of mold in the air was not unusual and was, in fact, generally less than the amount of mold in the air outside the building. The CDC letter recommends that HISD continue what it has been doing – “clean-up of the residual mold … .” HISD is continuing this action.

The CDC letter also is consistent with HISD’s previous report that the custodians who were sickened while cleaning were not sickened by mold but by the vapors from the bleach solution they were using to clean. The CDC letter reported the “symptoms reported by maintenance staff during the cleaning of the ventilation unit grill work were consistent with chlorine exposure … .“ On September 3, ICU reported to HISD that “it appears the symptomatic individuals were exposed to irritating fumes from the bleach solution drawn into the return air intakes of the unit ventilators and readily discharged at the supply air diffusers.”

The CDC letter dated October 17 noted several “positive changes” made by HISD. “The ventilation units in classrooms had been cleaned, the filters replaced, and the external insulation had been replaced” in addition to ceiling tiles replaced, leaks fixed and soil around the building “re-graded to ensure that rain water coming down the exterior walls flows away from the buildings.”

HISD agrees with the CDC’s recommendations that we continue to improve communication with Key Middle School employees regarding the issues, that we continue maintenance work on the ventilation units, that we train employees in the proper use of chemical disinfectants, and that we establish an indoor environmental quality plan for Key Middle School.

HISD asked the CDC to help investigate the situation at Key Middle School. Our number one concern will continue to be the health and safety of our students and staff. We will continue to work closely with independent environmental authorities and medical experts to try to determine what, if anything, inside Key Middle School may have made anyone sick and to correct any problems that exist.

Terry Abbott

Press Secretary

Houston Independent School District

10/18/2007 10:09:39 PM
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  alastrina wrote:
It does not look like the letter from the CDC even hinted that there were any unsafe levels of mold at Key. The headline made it sound as if there were unsafe levels of mold. Is this for sensationalism? Perhaps the CDC people that are still in Houston could issue a letter stating either that there are unsafe levels or not.
10/18/2007 10:21:31 PM
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  Gnrdude wrote:
Ok this Still Doesn't Answer the Question is it A Hazardous Strain Of Mold Found there? Cause ythere are 13,000 Differant Types of Mold & only a Dozen are so are Very Dangerous to the General Public. However Some people Such as myself are Very sensative to Mold Ingeneral.
10/18/2007 10:37:03 PM
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  huh_what wrote:
Could this all be just an epidemic of allergies commonly found in the Houston area at certain times of year...people at the office are sniffling alot lately, maybe we should evacuate...
10/18/2007 10:53:32 PM
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  dunkerya wrote:
the superintendent should move his offices to Key.
10/19/2007 12:02:11 AM
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  nonewsisgoodnews wrote:
HISD has some fine physical facilities...the schools in Meyerland and in far west Houston where 80% or 90% of the students come from white families with above average incomes. Most of the physical facilities provided for lower income minority students are on a par with school facilities in Angola or the Dominican Republic...shabby, rundown, and sometimes dangerous.

The folks who post to claim that the problems at Key Middle School are "No Big Deal" have one thing in common: not ONE of them has a child attending an inner-city HISD campus. HISD's third-rate ghetto schools always look plenty "good enough" to white folks...because white folks know that THEIR kids won't ever be stuck in one of them.

10/19/2007 12:08:18 AM
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  Pistolp wrote:
I believe the headline is sensational and misleading.

A few facts not included in the article:

There is not a public or private building in the city of Houston where, if tested, the CDC would not find at least some trace amount of mold. Mold is naturally occuring and is found EVERYWHERE, both inside and outside of buildings. The news would have been if the CDC had NOT found any mold - that would be virtually impossible.

For the air in the building to effect the breathing and health of students and staff of the school there would have to be a measurably higher level of mold spores in the air inside the school than generally found in the area. As a result, the ONLY relavent fact is if there are more mold spores in the air inside the building than there are outside the building.

Typically the amount of mold in the air inside a tested building is compared to a "control" sample taken outside the building. Again, BOTH samples will have some amount of mold; the key is if the the air inside the building has measurably more mold or not. This test was already made, and the school was shown not to have more mold in interior air than the outdoor control sample.
 
 singinginthered wrote:
Caseyatbat -- thanks for posting the letter, it's much more informative than the Chronicle article.

nonewsisgoodnews -- your blatant racism is offensive, and your assertions ignore the fact that the neighborhoods you reference were built much later than the inner city areas. Duh!
10/19/2007 12:17:14 AM
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  ether wrote:
What is the median mold level in the average ghetto home?

If anyone, especially that 300 pounder I saw on the news being wheeled out of KEY on a gurney to an ambulance, has as high or a higher mold level in their own home I'd want to sue them for filing a frivilous lawsuit.
10/19/2007 4:01:30 AM
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  ksteeler wrote:
I don't know why the Chronicle is insisting on making mountains out of molehills where HISD is concerned. There absolutely are problems, but the Chronicle is picking and choosing hot-button topics. For example, the article about dress codes a few weeks back...the reporter didn't even get her facts right about high school racial statistics and that's public information.

Nonewsisgoodnews...contrary to what you state, the West region of HISD has no school that is 80-90% white. I teach in Meyerland, which you specifically mentioned, and more than 1/3 of our population is on free/reduced lunch. Do we have educated parents with high-paying jobs? Absolutely. Do we have kids who come to school hungry and with no school supplies? Absolutely. Are we in one of the wards? Absolutely not, but the West region is not without its social problems, either.

I had a mold problem in my classroom, which made me extremely sick and I missed quite a bit of school. My principal called risk management to come out and check my room. They were out there within 24 hours, acknowledged the problem, and I had new air conditioners before I got to school the next day, and then new carpet.

HISD is not perfect. Don't get me started on what I think of last year's incentive pay plan, for example. But let's focus on the real issues instead of misleading the general public with false or skewed information.

10/19/2007 4:15:19 AM
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  Miemaw wrote:
Bottom line is this: If there is a problem at a school that is making people sick, it needs to be addressed immediately. HISD danced around the situation at Key, for months. Media, who should have known better, hinted that the employees and teachers wanted "free time off." Or worse still wanted "workman's compensation." for an "on the job related injury or illness." This situation was made out to be everything but what it was.

Something in the school was making people sick.

That it took HISD as long as it did, to get the CDC involved, is appalling.

All of us who live in Houston may, at one time or another deal with a "mold" problem, simply because of the humid conditions of the City.

However, none of us, with any sense of responsibility, would wait to deal with it, until we had to call 911, and have an ambulance take us to the hospital.

Understandably, Mr. Abbott, and HISD did not want ANY negative publicity, on the eve of a bond election.

As a result, the situation at Key was allowed to fester like an open wound, and HISD refused to transfer kids, refused to believe that teachers were ill, refused to believe that the janitors were affected by anything, refused to believe that Gayle Fallon, on a visit to the school, could not breathe the air.

And, because they refused to address the underlying problem, kids now are being bussed to schools they don't know. Teachers are being re-assigned.

All this could have been avoided, if the initial reaction by HISD, would have been to address the problems, and remedy the problems. Instead they chose to address the media reports, and to try to spin them in the light most favorable to the school district.

ksteeler is lucky. The problem she described was fixed within 24 hours, with new air conditioning, and new carpet. The problems at Key went on for weeks. And, from the story this morning, it still does not state ---- have they been fixed, or merely identified?

10/19/2007 4:59:55 AM
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  alastrina wrote:
People are forgetting that HISD did hire independent contractors and the city also came to look at the building, both deemed the school safe. Now the CDC is stating there is mold, but they are not stating if it is an amount that would cause the hysteria that was displayed. It very well might have had enough mold, but why didn't the city and/or the company hired by HISD find the same levels? The CDC truly needs to make a statement if it is a toxic mold. They now are the ones perpetuating the problem. Unless, they do not know.

The only thing that HISD is at fault for in this situation is hiring the wrong company and having the wrong workers come out and test the mold levels.

Many will feel that they should have moved faster, especially after the workers complained. However, after reading the CDC report it does talk about disposing of chemicals properly. I am sure that HISD believed that was the real problem, not maybe/maybe not toxic mold.

Furthermore, HISD would not allow children/staff to stay in a building that was toxic. They could/would get sued. It was not intentional. It was not even negligent for they took steps to fix the situation with the information presented to them by experts.

10/19/2007 6:00:28 AM
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  MrSecureT wrote:
The CDC and NIH have repeatedly said that mold is not "toxic"--that it might POSSIBLY cause minor irritation for those with chronic lung problems but that others have absolutely nothing to worry about. For the vast majority of people, it's completely innocuous. This whole "toxic mold" myth is just a scam cooked up by insurance companies and mold remediation outfits. That's why our homeowners insurance premiums have quintupled in the last ten years.
10/19/2007 6:41:16 AM
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  electric wrote:
The people who complained about mold in that school, I bet if the CDC went to each of their homes, they would find more mold there than at that school.
10/19/2007 7:09:39 AM
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  gayle2415 wrote:
HISD's press release leaves out a very important sentence from the CDC letter. The CDC mentioned they only found isolated microbial mold growth BECAUSE HISD HAD CLEANED UP THE BUILDING BEFORE THE CDC GOT THERE. Dr. Burton from NIOSH clearly stated in the meeting with HISD and the union that the CDC could not recreate the conditions present in the building when the students and employees began getting sick because the district did a massive scrub down of the building immediately before they arrived.

The union was able to send samples of the mold from multiple sources throughout the building that were gathered prior to the cleanup to a lab that specializes in analyzing the genus and species of the specific samples. Those samples showed the presence of several very toxic strains of mold as well as some benign forms. It also showed combinations of different types of mold that in combination form mycotoxins that can cause serious health issues. That report was shared with the employees in the building so that they could take it to their doctors to aid in seeking a cure. It will shortly be posted on the union web site so that parents can check room by room which type of mold and the potential mycotoxins it created to help with their children's health issues. That report was also shared with the CDC. It got to them after the preliminary report and CDC officials told us the results will be considered and evaluated in their final report.

Additionally, the CDC letter clearly states they still need to talk to employees They will also evaluate the medical reports on these employees.

For those persons seeking the overly simplistic view that these employees were motivated by potential litigation, you need to review the recent supreme court case that ruled that has long as an employer has workers comp you cannot sue for damages. Additionally, any public entity is generally immune from most litigation due to its governmental immunity. HISD has comp and the employees are aware that litigation is impossible. The issue has never been litigation - it is health and safety.

The union and the teachers want one thing from HISD - a safe and healthy learning environment for teachers and students. If HISD shared that goal rather than spending their time, energy and resourses covering up a bad situation and defending the vendor they hired, parents and teachers might have more respect for the district.

Gayle Fallon, President
Houston Federation of Teachers
10/19/2007 7:15:22 AM
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  Maryl wrote:
Hey folks, we live on the Gulf Coast. Mold and mildew are a way of life.

10/19/2007 7:16:41 AM
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  gm6900 wrote:
Thank you Congresswoman Lee but obviously HISD is still in denial. Come on people something made these people sick. Thank you also MS Fallon for the clarification. This smells of not only mold but cover-up as well.
10/19/2007 7:30:12 AM
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  NiNaBeAnS wrote:
--Saavedra agreed to the move after U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, asked federal inspectors to visit Key. Saavedra then issued a formal invitation to the CDC.--

What a punk.
10/19/2007 7:53:55 AM
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  clr55 wrote:
No matter what happens, Mr. Abbott is going to spin the HISD view and Ms. Fallon is going to spin the union view.

Would anyone have gotten "sick" if the first instance (that the CDC says was chlorine exposure from the bleach) hadn't happened? I doubt it.
10/19/2007 8:03:25 AM
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  CharlesLSJr wrote:
Gayle, for heaven's sake, you are being expertly manipulated by those who profit from local building projects! Much like the Iraq military industrial complex. HISD management is not profitting from their actions. However YOU are an enormous asset to Houston construction firms.

Gayle, STOP, please STOP forcing HISD funds to the big corporations and allow us to hire more teachers and fund REAL educational programs.
10/19/2007 8:10:00 AM
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  Phalanx wrote:
MrSecureT, the CDC says that "toxic mold" is a misnomer, but confirms that there are molds that can produce potentially harmful toxins. You're overstating their clarification to fit your notion that it's a scam. I also found the EPA saying that mycotoxin-producing mold can be a serious problem. And my wife learned about the problem in medical school, so are the doctors in on the scam, too?

http://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm

http://www.epa.gov/appcdwww/iemb/child.htm
10/19/2007 8:11:50 AM
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  BetterGenes wrote:
The CDC now needs to go do the same evaluations at the homes of the teachers who complained of illness and see how clean and mold-free they are.

My guess is that they would find the school was better than the home, regardless of how clean the teachers are. Very few people maintain their air conditioner coils or condensate pans. Mold growth in homes usually exceeds that in commercial or industrial locales simply because homeowners to not have routine, planned preventative maintenance performed.
10/19/2007 8:13:11 AM
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  txstarrider wrote:
To nonewsisgoodnews.........
The schools in the "ghetto" are that way because those people who live there don't CARE if their schools go down hill. They just want a place for the kids to go for 8 hours of free babysitting a day so they can sit at home and collect their government aid and watch TV (or make more welfare cases so they don't lose that monthly check). Not true?? I know for a fact it is because I used to work in one of those areas and can remember ONE parent signing up for PTA in 4 years. Oh, and the open houses were a joke too, with about 1% of parents bothering to come see what their kids are doing in school. Yet when the school calls and says "your kid is disrupting the class", they holler racism. Puuuhhhlleeeaseee!! They LIKE it to be ghetto because then they can't be accused of "actin' white". Maybe if they "acted white" for a few years and actually cared, they would see their situation improved.
10/19/2007 8:18:31 AM
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  mangelo wrote:
We live in Humid, Texas. There is mold growing in our noses. If your feel sick, go to the doctor, get some medication and get back to work like the rest of us.
10/19/2007 8:50:40 AM
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  huh_what wrote:
What kind of game of "hide the ball" is this? It almost sounds like they don't want to say "those teachers are full of BS"...or "the school system is full of BS"...the line was drawn...we have a right to know which party incompetent and ignorant!
10/19/2007 8:51:41 AM
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  clr55 wrote:
Hey huh_what,
welcome to government agency speak. Give it a cursory inspection and don't don't give a firm finding. Hey, the politicans get away with it so why shouldn't the lower levels of government
10/19/2007 9:01:46 AM
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  MakeAmericaGreat wrote:
"the schools in ... far west Houston where 80% or 90% of the students come from white families with above average incomes..." I presume you think people who are not black are "white". If you look at the HISD website you will see that the number of white students in the elementary schools in far west Houston are 1%, 1%, 3%, 7%, 25% and 41%.
I realize where the confusion lies: at the turn of the last century, white people made up 30% of the world's population under 30, at the turn of this century it was 8%. Without some form of captive breeding program, at the turn of the next century the number will be statistically zero (less than 1%). Personally I look forward to the point where it will be impossible to blame white people for other people's problems.
10/19/2007 9:06:40 AM
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  gm6900 wrote:
Grand Wizard(MakeAmericaGreat) why make this a race issue. Racism will never die with people like you breathing the moldy air we breath.
10/19/2007 9:16:05 AM
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  OJSIMPSON wrote:
This is Political wrangling at its best --- however Key Middle School sits vacant... and if the CDC really found a substantual problem it would have been reported as such... come on people... this has become and ADULT (relative term) problem... I think this was primarily about the KIDS and LEARNING... The solution -- establish a time table for a pristine cleaning of the school and get those kids back when it is safe for them to do so.

Finally if the ADULTS have a problem... here's what we can do... get Gayle, Abe, all the politicians who responded, the parents who kept it going, so called black activist QX, and any other fools that wasted our time with this crap..... add 4 buckets of mold and let's settle it in the STEEL CAGE.. That's right a STEEL CAGE BATTLE ROYAL... Last One Standing Match... if you're gonna get the media's attention let's do it in an way we can make some of that money we've wasted back... make the match and put it on PPV!
10/19/2007 9:21:31 AM
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  OJSIMPSON wrote:
Oh and by the way my money is on Gayle.. she's probably the most manly of the bunch....
10/19/2007 9:22:51 AM
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  InsideMan wrote:
Those teachers were all faking it. What a bunch of clowns! Getting carried out by ambulance? Give me a break. The only reason the report didn't go ahead and call them out is because of the biggest clown of all, Sheila Jackson Lee. Are people that stupid or just purposefully blind, a la Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay?
10/19/2007 9:26:35 AM
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  houstontroy wrote:
I guess HISD has pie in their face. Now, let's get the place cleaned up, get the CDC back to re-test and get the school back open after the tests come back clean. Everybody work together now ... ..
10/19/2007 9:30:29 AM
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  MakeAmericaGreat wrote:
gm6900 -- you are 100% right. It is NOT a race issue. It's a lack-of-education issue. The world that Martin Luther King saw is gone forever. If you had read my note rather than just registering the word "white" and a number in the same sentence, you would appreciate that. The previous poster had said that mythical schools in Meyerland and West Houston are 90% white. They're not--there just aren't that many white children left out there. The school system is 88% non-white so there is no reason whatever to blame ANY race--even evil white people--for mold at this school!
10/19/2007 9:30:38 AM
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  surrog8 wrote:
One has to consider the source of the complaints I would think. Remember that Key is a campus that has evidence of "teacher led" cheating on state exams.
10/19/2007 9:36:22 AM
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  OJSIMPSON wrote:
Inside man you are correct. Under the direction of their Drama Queen Opportunist and Vindictive principal.. who missed her calling and should be in hollywood... a true horror just in time for the 31st of this month. I have spoke with many of her current and former employees of the record and she and her political friend C.G. orchestrated the whole thing once they found a minimal amout of mold; each looking to benefit from the situation.
10/19/2007 9:40:00 AM
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  OJSIMPSON wrote:
Teacher led cheating is a misnomer... if the principal knows it's administration led cheating...or maybe the principal didn't because she was committing fraud herself by saying she was at work when she wasn't... which explains why she wanted off the Flemmming campus .. there were too many eyes watching her especially those of an executive principal... according to my sources she spent less than 1/4 of her time on campus when she was at Key.. I bet you if you put a tail on her with a video camera you'd see the truth..
It's not about kids... It's about her...It's not about learning... It's about control and power... It's not about parents... It's about pawns!!!
10/19/2007 9:49:50 AM
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  Osage wrote:
Oh lordy...mold...in HOUSTON??? It's everywhere people, always has been, always will be. No mention of levels of mold, what kind...its a whitewash and opens the way for a landslide of law suits. Thanks CDC.
10/19/2007 10:05:29 AM
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  Bill_ wrote:
If you have to go to this length to prove there is mold in a school, then probably every school in Texas has mold as do all our homes, our cars, and our clothes. So what...it's been like that since the beginning of humidity. There are some people who are induced into feeling sick just by thinking of mold or other bad things. Think of it as spontaneous induction.
10/19/2007 10:07:47 AM
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  rexaplenty wrote:
This has nothing to do with cheating on exams. It has everything to do with ensuring a safe workplace and education environment for the teachers and the children of the city of Houston.

If anything, this whole episode reflects upon the neglect of the inner-city schools by our school board.
10/19/2007 10:09:52 AM
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  just_a_thought wrote:
Is water wet too?
10/19/2007 10:17:00 AM
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  TEXAN396 wrote:
"tests by an independent contractor and city inspectors did not find unsafe levels of mold".How much of the taxpayers money did HISD squander once again!?

10/19/2007 10:20:58 AM
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  nonewsisgoodnews wrote:
The physical facilities that HISD provides to students in West University, Meyerland, and Bellaire are "equal" to those in neighborhoods where 95% of HISD students are African-American? Yeah, right...

If all HISD schools are "equal", than why do parents go to extreme lengths to get their kids into the HISD schools located in wealthy neighborhoods, and why do HISD teachers assigned to "ghetto" schools seek transfers to a West University, Bellaire, or Meyerland campus, yet NO HISD teacher would ever seek to leave the "plush" schools to teach at the shabby, rundown, dangerous schools provided in neighborhoods that are predominately African-American.

HISD receives an equal amount of funding for its richest white students and for its poorest African-American students. You just wouldn't know it from visiting a "ghetto" HISD campus, and then visiting a school in a wealthy white neighborhood.

10/19/2007 10:30:26 AM
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  fjw713 wrote:
... well maybe get more committment from the parents to be more involved with their children and the schools, emphasize the need for an education to the children, have children that want to learn and do not destroy their textbooks then let's talk. That is the primary difference in the schools "nonewsisgoodnews". The issue is not money, but committment to learn which then creates the environment you are seeking.
10/19/2007 10:54:06 AM
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  fjw713 wrote:
I bet the same mold exists in most of our schools. This one just got blown out of proportion. Yes, even the white schools.
10/19/2007 10:55:10 AM
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  MakeAmericaGreat wrote:
nonewsisgoodnews--perhaps the reason is parental involvement. This is not a racial issue. Volunteering (by ALL races) at the schools in West University, Bellaire and Meyerland is much higher than at schools in what you call "predominantly African-American neighborhoods" (see HISD website). Also, the PTO is what provides the additional funding for extra-curricular activities. If teachers want to leave areas where they don't get help from parents to areas where they do, I really can't blame them and neither should you.
BTW, on the subject of terminology, Senator Obama is half white and half black but he is officially "African American". NONE of the schools in HISD is anywhere near 100% white, so how come you insist on referring to them as "wealthy white schools"?
10/19/2007 11:00:59 AM
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  curleehead wrote:
When you guys get it that in the more affluent areas, it is the parents and PTA groups that are responsible for the upgrades those areas get. They have massive fund raisers which really benefit the schools. Quit complaining and do something in your own area.
10/19/2007 11:02:17 AM
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  reefrat wrote:

gayle2415 wrote:
"HISD's press release leaves out a very important sentence from the CDC letter. The CDC mentioned they only found isolated microbial mold growth BECAUSE HISD HAD CLEANED UP THE BUILDING BEFORE THE CDC GOT THERE. "

If that is true, then it proves that the only "remediation" needed was a quick and thorough scrubbing, not an expensive remediation project or a new school.
10/19/2007 11:02:48 AM
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  surrog8 wrote:
Nonews, you might just have to ask Nobel Laureate James Watson about equality among the races.
10/19/2007 11:07:02 AM
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  gTRAY wrote:
dunkerya wrote:
the superintendent should move his offices to Key.

I would add in addition to the superintendent, Terry Abbott and all the Houston Comical bloggers who say there is not a mold problem at Key.

Recommend (917)

10/19/2007 11:13:15 AM
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  jimboo wrote:
I wonder what would happen if you took a guaranteed mold-free environment and a control population and then started adding the suggestion that there was toxic mold. I'm not saying that the staff didn't not have genuine symptoms, I'm just saying that placebo has been shown to have a very significant effect on both creating and curing symptoms. The power of suggestion should not be underestimated.
10/19/2007 11:17:33 AM
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  joebob23 wrote:
It's almost time to pull out the race card!
10/19/2007 12:38:01 PM
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syd1 wrote:
swtxgal66 wrote:
What building in the humid city doesn't have mold? GET OVER IT!

If you were falling ill would you get over it? They have not confirmed for sure if the mold is at a quantity high enough to cause illness or if it is the black mold that creates the illness, but don't they deserve to know for sure. Would you want to be exposed to black mold which causes illness and death?
10/19/2007 1:52:58 PM
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  ConcernCitizen1 wrote:
I am not surprize mold was found majority of the HISD schools have mold because most of them are over 30 years old. Maybe this is a stunt to get the HISD Bond pass but if you pass the bond all schools that are over 30 years old need to be upgraded or replace not just the one HISD pick.
10/19/2007 1:59:16 PM
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  Darrett wrote:
I suppose ALL those employees and students had "sensitive allergies", you know what I am allergic to.... BS
10/19/2007 2:05:56 PM
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  nubiangoddess wrote:
I am happy they found the source of the problem and will hopefully make drastic changes to include routine air checks of these older buildings. Regardless of the locations of these schools, poor neighborhoods or otherwise, regardless of how well students take care of school property, they all deserve a fair education and a healthy environment. Sometimes school officials and their unfair treatment of some students given their less fortunate backgrounds, could be partially liable for some behavioral issues as well. At least 8 hours per day these children are the responsibility of those who teach them and sometimes they tend to have a far greater impact than parents. I had a mentor growing up as well a a few teachers who made such great influences on my life that I will never forget them.
10/19/2007 2:09:43 PM
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  maxwellsmart wrote:
My house is 50 years old. It sometimes gets mold in places with no air circulation when its been raining for days. This is usually quicky remedied with $2 in bleach and a scrub brush before it spreads. My point is just because a building is 30 years old doesn't mean its time to pass a billion dollar bond issue to replace it. Mold exists everywhere in this humid climate. If you maintain it properly, it should last 100 years or more.

In Japan, all students spend the first hour of the day cleaning their own school. This includes the floors and toilets. The idea is that if they have to clean it up, they will take pride in it and not mess it up. Just think of the whining and lawsuits we would get if we tried to get them to do it in America.
10/19/2007 2:13:38 PM
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  VincentOMoh wrote:
Maxwellsmart: The highest white percentage in all of HISD is West University Elementary School in the City of West University Place.

See: http://www.schooldigger.com/go/TX/schools/2364002608/school.aspx

It is about 73% White

The "Whitest" comprehensive high school is Bellaire: http://www.schooldigger.com/go/TX/schools/2364002397/school.aspx - about 42%

But the point is that HISD is a large, polyglot district. There ARE schools popular with rich White families. On the same token, there are schools that are almost all poor and low performing.
10/19/2007 2:43:44 PM
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  babu wrote:
please fire the top people in hisd today itself....governor u do it ...it is ur duty....they played a big game ...and also cancel the licence of the people who said there is no mold....are they the fools in usa...nobel prize for the teachers and staff
10/19/2007 3:01:47 PM
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  babu wrote:
this superintendent looks like enron chairman....we can fire him ....today it is friday....please send a pink slipto him now itself....if he wants compesation we can give some donation
10/19/2007 3:04:57 PM
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  CaseyJones wrote:
wow censored for satire...
10/19/2007 3:41:45 PM
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  CaseyJones wrote:
Maxwellsmart: The highest white percentage in all of HISD is West University Elementary School in the City of West University Place

What about the unspecifieds,and native alaskans,why does HISD refuse to allow unspecifieds,and native alaskans in their schools? RACISTS!!!!!!
Why is nobody fighting for their rights?
10/19/2007 3:47:04 PM
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  firefire wrote:
Abelardo has a school e i e i o
loaded with the unions tools e i e i o
with a mold mold here and a mold mold there
here a mold there a mold everwhere a mold mold
Abelardo has a school e i e i oooooohhhhh
Next verse
Lawywer Lawyers everywhere e i e i o
Taxpayers better just beware e i e i o
A million here and a million there
here a mil there a mil everwhere a mil mil
need more for the bond e i e i o
10/19/2007 3:50:16 PM
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  VincentOMoh wrote:
CaseyJones said: "What about the unspecifieds,and native alaskans,why does HISD refuse to allow unspecifieds,and native alaskans in their schools? RACISTS!!!!!!
Why is nobody fighting for their rights?"

Hahahahahah! That's funny :)

In Texas all people choose a race, though I dunno what a "default" is.

Native Alaskans are usually placed in the Native American category.
10/19/2007 5:33:11 PM
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  alastrina wrote:
Gayle, thank you so much for sending samples to an undisclosed location. It is wonderful that the union could find the right company to survey the mold. It is very unfortunate that HISD could not hire them as well, or that the city government found nothing wrong (didn't the city come too?). I think the company that has the secret answer should come forward with the batch that was found and give it to the CDC. They should also report to the Chronicle. Furthermore, the CDC could prevent HISD from entering the building until several more weeks have gone by and by then the strains of mold should begin to reappear. . .enough for a CDC sample.

The CDC should continue their evaluations to the homes of the teachers as well because it could have been a combination of molds. Remember, in science, there are so many variables.

Gayle and others, what should HISD have done when they hired places that deemed the place safe?
10/19/2007 7:50:26 PM
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  Hadenough wrote:
It is really sad that the CDC had to tell HISD to communicate with the people in the building.(Key MS, and that is one of their recommendations. Would not the plant operator, who has been there for a number of years, know the building environment better than anyone.

This is what happens when TOP BRASS, refuses to acknowledge/communicate with the people they(HISD) have in place and choose to go outside for imformation.

10/19/2007 8:00:27 PM
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 Hadenough wrote:
OJSIMPSON.... I'm still waiting on the answer to my question. Were the temporary buildings ordered before or after Quanell X's appearance?
10/19/2007 8:08:57 PM
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  VincentOMoh wrote:
We operate on an innocent until proven guilty model here. HISD is innocent of mold charges UNLESS one can prove that mold WAS a safety threat.