"...the consistency of findings from these school-based studies with the findings from homes, offices, and other buildings strengthens the case for adverse health effects in damp and moldy schools....approximately 4.6 million cases of asthma in the USA result from exposure to dampness and mold ... the resulting economic cost of this health impact is approximately $3.5 billion annually." (Mudarri and Fisk, 2007)
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CT: Westport Parents Fault School for Delay Over Mold
Westport, Ct parents are outraged that the King’s Highway School administrators and superintendent kept the school's toxic mold a secret for a whole year, while their children experienced frightening health problems related to the mold.
Read the latest article in a series about this moldy school and the irresponsible conduct described by parents (SMH).
By GEORGIA KRAL
Published: November 11, 2007
WESTPORT
BUILT in 1933, King’s Highway School in Westport, a large brick building with white-trimmed windows and tall white pillars by the entrance, looks like the quintessential New England academy.
In a section of the elementary school called the pod, however, parents and teachers have complained for years about musty smells and the poor quality of the air, which they suspect has contributed to the chronic respiratory problems of several teachers and students.
After years of suspicion, mold was found in the pod in the fall of 2006, and it was sealed off.
But until this summer, when the pod was torn down, only those inside the administration knew about the mold.
“We were told if the pod was sealed off, it wouldn’t pose a threat,” said Dr. Elliott Landon, the schools superintendent, about why the mold had not been disclosed sooner. “But would I have done it differently now? Yes.”
As early as 2001, school officials were hearing from teachers in poor health questioning if the building had anything to do with their illnesses. The lack of communication on the administration’s part has left many parents angry.
“I never suspected it was air quality at the school,” said Lauren Tarshis, whose 6-year-old son, Dylan, developed asthma after attending classes in the pod in 2005-6.
“He was at the doctor 10 times between September and April that year,” she said. “They couldn’t figure out why this scrappy, previously healthy kid was suddenly sick all the time with bronchitis, ear infections and wheezing.”
In the 2005-6 school year, 4 of the 19 second graders in the pod came down with pneumonia, and the teacher, Karrie Reilly, experienced respiratory illnesses that continued the following year after she was moved to another classroom. When she took a two-week sick leave last spring, many parents began to ask questions about the pod.
Several Freedom of Information requests filed by parents uncovered a series of letters revealing that the administration had been concerned enough about the air quality to order several tests throughout the school.
In May, Dr. Landon, responding to parent requests, ordered more air-quality tests in every classroom. The results deemed the school safe.
Several parents, unsatisfied with the results, went to Gordon Joseloff, the first selectman of Westport, who created a committee to oversee air-quality issues at the school. The committee and the Board of Education hired an air-quality consultant, Gil Cormier, in July to do more testing and oversee the proper destruction of the pod. He found extensive mold in the pod, mold in two walls of the gymnasium and an inadequate ventilation system throughout the school.
Mr. Cormier will soon file reports on his findings to the Board of Education. In the meantime, he is encouraging teachers to keep windows open to increase ventilation, and last week, 24-hour air sampling and testing began.
Dr. Landon has requested $1.88 million from the Board of Finance to cover the clean-up costs, including $752,000 to replace carpeting and $868,000 for brick repointing. An additional $88,000 was approved to put the committee’s recommendations in effect, including improving the ventilation system and additional testing.
Like many parents, Ms. Tarshis blames the pod for her son’s illness and the administration for not disclosing health issues.
“We want open communication between the parents and administration,” she said. “This is what we want fixed, what we’ve been fighting for, so that other teachers and children don’t become sick.”
