Posts
The following are notifications and comments about various school topics or issues. If you have a topic, concern or rumor that you would like addressed, please send me an email at wiseman.stephen@usd377.org and I will give it my due consideration.
12/31/2012 - Mold Testing on Preschool Complete
Upon returning from the winter holiday break, the district engaged with Dalrymple Consulting, Inc. to conduct a Mold Assessment study of the the Preschool building after mold was found on a classroom ceiling and also suspected to be present in the attic area. As a precautionary measure, preschool classes have been moved out of that building to spare classrooms at the Central Office building located on Main Street, Effingham.
As to general information about mold, it is impossible to eliminate all molds and mold spores in the indoor environment; however, controlling the amount of moisture within the building can reduce the potential for mold propagation. The main source of mold in office/classroom environments is outdoor air. As outdoor air is often filtered before it enters the ventilation system and mold settle due to lower air velocities in buildings than outdoors, common indoor mold levels are expected to be lower than levels in outdoor air.
Currently in the United States and the State of Kansas, there are no regulations limiting mold in air and no clear authority to regulate exposure to microbial agents associated with Building Related Illnesses. The criteria used for evaluating test results include guidelines provided by AlHA (American Industrial Hygiene Association), ACGm (American Council of Government Industrial Hygienists), EPA, and industry reviewed references.
Provided are pertinent hierarchy of events and highlights of the Dalrymple Mold Assessment report.
- Monday, January 2, 2012 - Teacher reports what appeared to be mold on the ceiling in Room 43 of Building A (Preschool building). Mold area treated with bleach solution by custodial staff.
- Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - Mr. Wiseman is informed by elementary teachers that mold was found in Building A.
- Mr. Wiseman and Facilities Director Dan Coder conduct a visual inspection of the entire building including the attic area. Visual inspection indicated the possibility of mold on the attic plywood ceiling board.
- Mr. Wiseman conferred with Elementary Principal Brookover about the situation and it was decided to cancel preschool classes for the remainder of the week and advise preschool teachers to begin moving necessary instructional materials to spare classrooms located at the Central Office where classes will be held until given the okay to return to Building A.
- Mr. Wiseman directed Mr. Coder to contact Dalyrmple Consulting, Inc. (environmental engineering consulting service located in Topeka) to come out and conduct Mold Assessment on Building A.
- Mr. Wiseman and Facilities Director Dan Coder conduct a visual inspection of the entire building including the attic area. Visual inspection indicated the possibility of mold on the attic plywood ceiling board.
- Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - Dalyrmple Consulting, Inc. conducted Mold Assessment on Building A along with a follow-up assessment and inspection on Friday, January 6, 2012.
Mold Assessment Results.
- Testing ruled out HVAC system causing mold growth.
- All surface samples taken showed presence of mold spores in moderate to abundant quantities.
- Mold spores confirmed in four (4) indoor air samples.
- Classroom samples twice the mold concentration as the outside air sample
- Attic sample was three times the outside mold concentrations.
- The concentration of the mold spores in the inside samples for AspergilluslPencillium Group were 30 times greater than the outside air sample.
- Mold concentrations in the air were measured on Friday, January 6th in the classrooms and the outside. The indoor mold concentrations were less than the outdoor mold concentrations and the Aspergillus/Pencillium Group concentrations in the classroom were less than the outside air.
- The sampling data on Friday, January 6th indicates that the mold growth in the attic area had increased substantially since Wednesday.
The following actions are recommended based on the results of this Mold Assessment:
- Remove and dispose of the attic insulation that is underneath the fresh air duct that extends from the east furnace room into the hallway. Dry all water that is standing on the sheet rock ceiling board, clean with a bleach solution. Allow the sheet rock areas to air dry before replacing new attic insulation over the area.
- As confirmed by Mr. Coder, the air duct and hallway vent may be removed. Also, the fresh air connection from this duct to the main furnace needs to be permanently plugged.
- Remove and replace all water saturated roof deck boards. Clean all mold areas in the remaining attic area with a bleach solution. Coat all cleaned and dried areas with lock-down material.
- Until the wet roof areas have been replaced and remaining attic areas cleaned of mold growth, do not allow the classrooms to be used by students. The roof replacement and cleaning should be completed as soon as possible and as weather permits to prevent mold growth from entering other parts of the building. Mold spore episodes are precipitated by moisture events. Only in the presence of moisture will mold grow.
What happens next?
The estimated cost to fix the mold problem is around $41,000. This is a substantial amount considering the age and overall condition of the building. Now it will be up to the Board to determine whether to fix the building and continue using it for classes or look at other options.
12/19/2011 - JSH Commons Area New Epoxy Floor Issues
Mr. Coder has been in contact with the flooring company who last summer installed the new epoxy floor in the JSH commons area. Arrangements were made for them to come in over Christmas and fix a few small bubbles that have appeared in several places. Instead, it has been decided to wait and have the company come out this summer and fix the problem areas. The extra time should make it easier to determine how big a problem we really have. Currently, it looks as though we have just a few small patches that need to be fixed. The contractor believes this is a moisture problem and plans to re-surface any areas where the floor did not seal properly. They will do this at absolutely no cost to the district - they stand behind their product 100%.
12/16/2011 - Power Panther Grant
Mrs. Liewer received letter in the mail that says we get $780 to be used in coordination with the Power Panther Professionals grant! That's $10 for each per participant that completed the online pretest sent out earlier this fall! She will be receiving the manual soon to begin the program with all staff once school resumes 2nd semester. This program was created to educate educators about the benefits of healthy eating and physical activity. Though educators are aware of the general benefits of a good diet and exercise, this program goes into more detail to help motivate educators with unhealthy lifestyles.
12/15/2011 - Thoughts on Oskaloosa's Proposal to Disband the League
I don't know how serious they are about their proposal, but suffice it to say there are some who feel that the DVL is too big. Obviously, there are other issues at play here, but whether anything becomes of the whole mess is anybody's guess.
On Thursday of last week, I met with administrators from Sabetha, Nemaha, Hiawatha, Horton, Doniphan, and Riverside as part of a series of discussions about starting a new league. Though nothing of real substance became of the meeting, I expect we will know a whole lot more about each school's position after January board meetings.