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Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Westport News Front Page
Westport News has continued to investigate the air quality situation at King's Highway Elementary School and had two front page articles today on the situation.
One article was a follow-up to their earlier report on the 2002 Air Quality study that Elliott Landon kept hidden from the Board of Education, the media and parents. According to the Westport News, due to the age of the building predating the code being implemented:
"The building code violations identified in a 2002 engineering study of the King's Highway Elementary School (KHS) cannot be enforced".
We commend the newspaper for its pursuit of the true history behind the air quality problems at KHS. The Westport News noted that it filed "a request under the state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the central school office for invoices and other documents that might show whether there has been any upgrading of the KHS ventilation system since the date of the engineering study in 2002."
We hope the Westport News is more successful in getting answers to its FOIA request than the KHS Clean Air Committee has received from Mr. Landon to its earlier FOIA request.
The second article focused on the age of the mold at KHS and the lack of any records that seem to exist that would help document how long mold has been at the elementary school. According to the Westport News:
"Board of Education Chairman Mary Parmelee said she has been told that five years ago, officials knew there was mold in the building and nothing was done about it, but said she has not seen a record of it".
Mold.
Non-functioning vents.
Code Violations.
High CO2 levels.
All known in 2001 and 2002.
Why did Landon not act for what appears to have been 5+ years?
Where was the BOE this entire period?
Why did it take sick children to have action taken at KHS?
"The building code violations identified in a 2002 engineering study of the King's Highway Elementary School (KHS) cannot be enforced".
We commend the newspaper for its pursuit of the true history behind the air quality problems at KHS. The Westport News noted that it filed "a request under the state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the central school office for invoices and other documents that might show whether there has been any upgrading of the KHS ventilation system since the date of the engineering study in 2002."
We hope the Westport News is more successful in getting answers to its FOIA request than the KHS Clean Air Committee has received from Mr. Landon to its earlier FOIA request.
The second article focused on the age of the mold at KHS and the lack of any records that seem to exist that would help document how long mold has been at the elementary school. According to the Westport News:
"Board of Education Chairman Mary Parmelee said she has been told that five years ago, officials knew there was mold in the building and nothing was done about it, but said she has not seen a record of it".
Mold.
Non-functioning vents.
Code Violations.
High CO2 levels.
All known in 2001 and 2002.
Why did Landon not act for what appears to have been 5+ years?
Where was the BOE this entire period?
Why did it take sick children to have action taken at KHS?
Joseloff & Anderson Visit KHS
First Selectman Gordon Joseloff who led the effort to make our school safe and Gavin Anderson who's led the Maintenance Review Committee testing and mold removal at KHS were both on hand for the school opening today.
WestportNow which continued to track the air quality situation at King's Highway captured some photos of the school opening and of Mr. Joseloff and Anderson inspecting the mold in the Gym.
Readership Continues to Grow
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More Public Postings
We've continued to see parents and others posting comments on our blog. Some of them are reprinted below:
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thank you for all your effort!
- Anonymous said...
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The BOE should also look into the other older buildings that have had leaking and flooding issues involving heat systems steam leakage, etc.
Coleytown Elementary's third and fourth grade wing, often the rooms facing the playground... and fifth grade wing have had flooding in carpeted rooms, including resource room areas and teacher offices.
Any school that has had buckets logistically placed in the hall to catch rain, or shows evidence of wall damage that starts at the ceiling should be worthy of a second 'glance'.
Now that the BOE is involved in oversight, maybe they can request these documents for review to be proactive in other buildings. -
Now it is number one on the [BOE meeting] agenda, years and stifled reports later! Why are these people still serving?
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Thanks for keeping us posted!
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It's been 4 days now. Is Harris tracking the old A/C down with the same enthusiasm with which she had it replaced?
Is she trying to be helpful? Or is she trying to obstruct the investigation?
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In Westport's history, two older buildings have been renovated...the former Saugutuck School, now a condominium, and the former Bedford Middle School, currently Saugutuck Elementary.
It is possible that public records can be accessed to analyze any 'hot spots' at these two sites in order to help guide the current effort.
Bedford is probably the closest in location and the fact that it was inhabited up to the date of renovation makes it more comparable to King;s Highway.
Saugutuck was uninhabited for a period and fell into various stages of disrepair.
I don't know if this would help, simply an idea.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Welcome to Your Child's... Closet?
At Monday's Westport Board of Education meeting, a parent asked the BOE and Mr. Landon if student's are continuing to be taught in non-ventilated spaces at King's Highway School as was noted in the 2002 LMG study.
The 2002 study specifically mentioned storage room 151 being used as a "small classroom with NO ventilation". The study also notes storage room 229 being used as a "small tutorial room with exhaust connected to toilet exhaust", and storage room 234 being used as an "interior office with NO ventilation".
The parent noted that at least one such space was used last year at KHS.
The parent reminded the BOE that the code requires windows for ventilation and if windows don't exist then multiple vents that would allow for proper air flow. In the absence of windows or proper ventilation, the space cannot be considered a classroom but must be considered a closet or storage space.
BOE Chairman Mary Parmalee appeared interested in understanding whether this situation of students being taught in closets or storage spaces exists across Westport's elementary schools. Mr. Landon could not answer whether or not and how many of these violations exist in the schools.
Bad Air in the Gym
At Monday's Westport Board of Education meeting, Gavin Anderson, Chairman of the King's Highway Maintenance Review Committee gave an update on the air quality at the school.
With regard to the Gym, Mr. Anderson confirmed the following:
- There was mold in a number of locations in the Gym
- The amount of mold indicates a presence for some time
- Two types of mold have been identified
- Other types are being cultured at a test facility
- Mr. Anderson & Mr. Cormier have seen to the mold removal
- The MRC has ideas but has yet to pinpoint the source of water running behind the walls
- There is a hot pipe exposed in the Gym that could prove dangerous to children
- The large air handling vents in the Gym are not operational and do not appear to have been operated for some time
Parents questioned whether the vents had been running at any time since 2002. As the outside doors to the Gym are supposed to remain closed for child safety, this means that there has been no proper ventilation in the Gym for considerable time.
The May 2007 report, that Mr. Landon regularly references on CO2 levels, did not test for the CO2 levels in the Gym.
A parent of a child from room 28 asked Mr. Anderson to disclose the types of mold found in the gym so the parent could discuss them with the child's doctor. Mr. Anderson promised to make the types of mold known.
Landon/Harris Blocking BOE?
At yesterday's Westport Board of Education meeting, a parent questioned why Mr. Landon did not disclose during his History of Air Quality presentation to the BOE on August 13th, the existence and minutes of a Air Quality Committee that was formed in 2001 specifically to look at King's Highway.
Especially troubling to the parent was that Elliott Landon's Assistant Superintendent Nancy Harris was called out for having sat on that 2001 committee and not having made its existence known to the BOE, parents or town MRC led by Gavin Anderson. Ms. Harris did not answer when the parent asked if she would make the minutes of this committee available to the BOE or Mr. Anderson.
The BOE members all appeared to not have heard of this committee before it was disclosed by the parent. Gavin Anderson appeared to not have heard of this committee and seemed genuinely interested in any of its findings. Mr. Landon would have been copied on the minutes of the committee.
Given that Nancy Harris made the a/c unit from room 28 disappear, parents were not surprised with her failure to disclose this air quality committee, its findings or minutes.
Another parent asked the BOE for a guarantee that they have disclosed all reports, minutes, and findings related to air quality at KHS to the MRC and to parents of children at King's Highway. This guarantee was not given.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Landon Lied to BOE?
At last Monday's Westport Board of Education meeting on August 13th, Elliott Landon was asked to provide a complete history of the air quality issues at King's Highway Elementary School.
He explained that he started in his role in 1999 and couldn't locate any records of air quality issues before 1999. Under his watch, Landon referred to the 2001, 2006 and 2007 studies that the administration commissioned and we have had posted on this blog for weeks. These were the only air quality studies and documented issues that Landon said existed when he answered the BOE's request for a complete history.
That appears to have been a lie.
There was another air quality study at KHS completed by outside experts (LMG Consulting Engineers) for Mr. Landon and the administration in 2002. This study was never shared with the BOE. This study was never shared with parents. This study was never shared with the media. Elliott Landon omitted it from his complete history on air quality at KHS.
The March 8, 2002 report is attached below and is extremely troubling. It indicates that some ventilation fans were inoperable and been so for considerable time and that there were 15 air quality code violations at the school. These violations include:
- No controlled ventilation in the Gym or Auditorium
- A storage room (#151) being used as a classroom with NO ventilation
- Numerous instances of toilet exhaust being connected to building exhaust
- A storage room (#234) being used as an office with NO ventilation
As shown above, 5 out of 8 exhaust fans were not running at KHS leading to actual airflow of 23% of the designed air flow.
There is an excellent review of this report and questions that it raises in today's Westport News. Westport News has tracked all of the capital requests for KHS since 2002 that suggest the violations may not have been fixed. You can read it here.
School Should Open
As reported on the WestportNow site today, the King's Highway Elementary School Maintenance Review Committee voted to recommend that KHS open on time for the 2007-08 school year.
The MRC also recommended that the remaining two pods at the school not be used until the testing has been conducted and completed on the air quality in those pods.
It still is an open question on whether the gymnasium will be available for use when the school is open. The MRC is leading the removal of mold from two walls that was found after tests were conducted by the independent consultant.
You can read the WestportNow story here.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Who's Reading This Blog?
Thanks to Google Analytics and SiteMeter we now know this blog has been read in:
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Overseas, this blog was read over the past few days in France, Singapore and Sweden.
More TV Coverage
News Channel 12 which has covered the story since the KHS Clean Air Committee pressed for additional testing filed another online and TV report on the mold found in the gym.
You can read their article here and click a link to play a video of the TV report.
Coverage in The Advocate
Norwalk's The Advocate has joined in the coverage of mold and air quality issues at Westport's King's Highway elementary school.
They recently published a good synopsis of the mold found in the gym which you can read here.
More Mold Found
After conducting tests in the Gymnasium, the Westport King's Highway Maintenance Review Committee found mold behind the gym walls. The gym sits partially under ground level.
It is possible the gym won't be available when school opens as remediation will be necessary.
Even though Elliott Landon told parents that the elementary school was safe in his July letter, this mold represents a continuing series of clean up requirements that the MRC has found since it began testing. This is the testing the BOE balked at paying for only one week ago.
According to independent consultant Gil Cormier of New Britain-based Occupational Risk Control Services, Inc., the "mold has been there for an extended period of time". The MRC has not yet found the source of the water running behind the gym wall that allowed the mold to grow. Samples of the mold have been sent in for testing.
You can read an extensive story on this mold in Westport Now by clicking here.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Student Health Survey Issued
The KHS Clean Air Committee recently distributed (via email) an online survey to document the nature and frequency of student health issues at King's Highway Elementary School. The email stated:
"Dear KHS Parents:
As you know the town’s Maintenance Review Committee is working furiously to resolve the air quality issues at Kings Highway School in time for school opening in 2 weeks. One critical element of the committee’s research is having information about the health issues that were experienced by children at the school – this information helps Gil Courmier, the air quality expert, track down specific problem areas at the school.
Unfortunately, for assorted reasons, it is not easy to gather that information through the school system. So, to expedite the process, The KHS Clean Air Committee has volunteered to create and send a survey to parents asking for your voluntary input about your child’s health in the past school year at Kings Highway."
If you are a parent of a child who attending King's Highway School in Westport and you have not received an email with the survey and would like to participate, please send an email with the following to either info@khscleanair.org or khscleanair@aol.com:
- Your Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Email address
- Ages and 06/07 grades of all your children
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Mystery Flood
At last night's Board of Education meeting, Elliott Landon stated that the unacceptable mold levels found in September 2006 were likely due to flooding during the summer of 2006. His implication was that there was no mold present while second grade students were in the classroom during the prior 2005-06 school year.
The BOE did not question the existence of this mystery flood.
The parents did.
1. The pod was built up on 2 foot concrete footings (see photos) and supported with steel beams. Given the topography where the school and pod sits, there would have had to have been a tsunami to flood that pod.
2. Health concerns and questions go back to 1997 with the pod
3. His 2001 reports were critical of the pod
4. His own consultants, AMC, did not find any water damage in the September 2006 report that would have been consistent with flooding. In fact they stated on page 3 of the report "it was reported that there is no history of roof leaks or other water intrusion". Click here to see the page.
We recommend that Board of Education members start asking their own follow up questions on what happened over the past 10 years.
Landon Blames Teacher
At last night's Westport Board of Education meeting at Staples High School, Elliott Landon gave a history of the air quality situation at KHS. When discussing the second grade 2005-2006 class health issues for students assigned to the pod, he faulted the King's Highway classroom teacher for not running the ventilators.
Parents were shocked at this statement given that this new teacher to the school had never been provided instructions to operate the ventilators and that her health subsequently became compromised. Additionally, given the importance of running the ventilators, Mr. Landon and his staff never did early follow up to make sure they were running properly.
The Board of Education members did not question Landon's blaming a sick teacher for the administration's failure.
One Source Identified
At last night's Westport Board of Education meeting, Gavin Anderson, chairman of the King's Highway Elementary Maintenance Review Committee identified the kitchen and stove exhaust as a possible source of high co2 levels in certain classrooms.
The stove vents onto the roof by room 28 and the vent is low enough that the exhaust could be sucked back into room 28's air conditioning unit. Mr. Anderson said he expects to recommend a 6-8 foot stack be added to prevent any exhaust from entering classrooms.
Room 28 is the second grade class where 14 of 19 parents reported children with chronic nose bleeds, sinusitis, headaches, asthma and other ailments.
Town Leads... BOE Balks
Mr. Gavin Anderson, Chairman of the King's Highway Maintenance Review Committee, presented last night to the Westport Board of Education and gave an update on progress with the MRC.
Mr. Anderson was thanked a number of times during the evening by KHS parents for his independence, desire to leave no stone unturned, thoroughness, empathy to the parent concerns and ability to find the root cause of mold and co2 problems at our elementary school.
Our First Selectman Gordon Joseloff and Gavin deserve an enormous thank you from the parents, children, and teachers at KHS for their desire to improve the air quality at our school.
A number of parents put BOE members on notice for their lack of involvement to date with the school air quality issues. It was obvious that some members had not seen nor read the reports available on this site and were willing to accept Elliott Landon's statements as fact without checking into the details themselves.
One Month Later
July 13 2007
"There will be no more testing"
Elliott Landon to parents of the KHS clean air committee
August 13, 2007
The Westport Board of Education, after much deliberation on who should pay, approves $40,600 in additional testing on top of $10,000 the first selectman already covered.
We need to thank the First Selectman Gordon Joseloff and Board of Finance Chairman Jeffrey Mayer for attending the meeting and pressing the BOE to pay for these tests.
The evening was extensively covered by Westport Now - you can read their article here. This article also attracted a comment from BOE Chairman Mary Parmelee and a number of reactions to her comment from parents.
One Pod Down... Pics
These pictures were captured on August 10th of the space at the rear of King's Highway Elementary school the day after removal was completed of the mold infected pod.
Thanks to MRC Chairman Gavin Anderson and Independent Consultant Gil Cormier for having put in place the proper procedures to safeguard the school from contamination while the pod was being torn down.
Friday, August 10, 2007
BOE Topic #1
This coming Monday, Aug 13th, the Westport Board of Education will hold a meeting at Staples High School starting at 8:00pm.
The first presentation is an update by the chairman of the King's Highway School MRC.
The first discussion item is a historical overview of the situation at King's Highway Elementary School by Elliott Landon and Nancy Harris. We hope Mr. Landon's history includes an explanation of the secrecy behind the Sep 2006 report and the administration's failure to seal the pod. We hope Ms. Harris' history will explain what happened to the a/c unit with suspected mold that independent consultant Gil Cormier wanted to test.
You can see the full agenda here.
Minuteman Details Meeting
The Westport Minuteman has provided more details on the interactions at last week's MRC and on questions raised by parents and others.
"Parents expressed concern that the Westport school administration is currently destroying evidence of mold as it gets rid of suspect carpeting and air conditioning, and they also wonder whether the administration can be trusted in the future to monitor and give out information about the school's air quality."
"You can assume that parents at King's Highway have no trust that their pleas are being heard [by the administration]".
You can read their account here.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
One Pod Down... continued
Attached are a sampling of photos taken this morning on day 2 of the removal of the pod at the back of King's Highway Elementary School in Westport. This pod had been used as a classroom in earlier years.
the sign something is underway
heavy equipment on site
door between pod and Kindergarten wing that workers confirmed was not sealed
steel beams that made the pod permanent
equipment in action
workmen on site
heavy equipment on site
door between pod and Kindergarten wing that workers confirmed was not sealed
steel beams that made the pod permanent
equipment in action
workmen on site
click here to view a short video of the equipment in action
One Pod Down...
As reported in the Westport News yesterday, removal has begun of the Pod behind King's Highway Elementary.
This Pod had unacceptable air quality levels confirmed back in Sep 2006 in a report to Elliott Landon and was never sealed off from the rest of the school. Air from the pod vented into rest of the school via a hallway near the kindergarten rooms.
Click here for the Westport News article.
Click here to learn more and read the Sept 2006 report.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
A Nurse Speaks Out
This comment was recently posted anonymously to our blog:
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BIG question. Who owns the KHS? Our public schools are paid for by public taxes. Mr. Landon does NOT own the building. How is he able to prevent further testing? In my opinion the only reason to block testing is to continue a cover up.
I have been concerned about Mr. Landon and the BOE. They appear to have no respect for public concerns nor are they responsive to teacher and parent concerns regarding serious pediatric health issues.
Parents should not need to sue for FOIA. This info should have been reviewed and acted upon in a timely manner.
If I were a parent I would petition for funds to send my child to a private school rather than continue exposure to this sick building.
I wish you all luck in fighting Mr. Landon and the BOE.
Sincerely yours,
A Concerned RN
Friday, August 3, 2007
Who Has the A/C?
During Mr. Cormier's Monday walk-through of King's Highway Elementary School in Westport, he identified a class room air conditioning unit that appeared to have mold. On Tuesday the A/C unit was removed from KHS on the orders of Assistant Superintendent Nancy Harris.
While we agree that any items with mold should be removed, it's our position that the items be tested first so parents can understand what mold was in what locations and how that may have affected their children.
The attached picture from July 22nd, shows the pod and Room 28 above it with the A/C unit that's now missing.
Per WestportNow, one parent and attorney at yesterday's KHS Maintenance Committee meeting remarked “I’m asking that this committee take on, as one of accountability, preserving the record of what’s there so that we know what’s there”. “It’s critical.”
Nancy Harris said she would find out where the air-conditioner had been taken. We hope it's not with the carpet in Wallingford.
Selectman's MRC Kick-Off
Yesterday evening was the first official meeting of the KHS Maintenance Review Committee formed by First Selectman Gordon Joseloff. Our First Selectman was responding to the concerns raised by this group and the 100+ parents who signed on.
Joseloff stated "the whole objective is to be as open as we can be to instill a sense of confidence and to make sure the school’s environment is safe for our students”. We agree.
A number of our members were at the meeting which WestportNow covered and reported on in detail. Click here to read more.
If you want more background on the Committee's goals and members, click here to read a story in the Westport Minuteman.
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Thank you to all the parents and committee members who have worked so hard for a safe environment for our children.
Every parent should be thankful that this committee was organized outside the Board of Education. For years, the BOE has stonewalled parents, violated FOIA (hiding behind closed doors to make important decisions) and refused to provide any oversight to Mr. Landon. No member of this board should be reelected.
Gavin Anderson has provided a model to the BOE, as to how it should conduct its business.