Battery Creek High - No quick fix for mold problem

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No quick fix for mold problem at Battery Creek High School

Published Sun, Oct 13, 2002

By CRYSTAL STREUBER

Gazette staff writer

Beaufort County School District officials aren't rectifying a mold problem

in local schools quickly enough, area teachers said last week.

Mold was discovered at Battery Creek High School in summer 2001, but mold is

still growing at the school and causing health problems for several

teachers. District officials say they are working to solve the problem, but

it could be August 2003 before the school's humidity levels are lowered

enough to stop mold growth.

A group of 55 Battery Creek High teachers filed a grievance with the

district in March complaining of unsafe working and learning conditions

caused by mold growth at the school. A settlement, which only just over half

of the 55 teachers signed, promised a new school-wide dehumidification

system, to be operational during this school year, and maintenance for the

school's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.

Maintenance work on the school's ventilation system is currently underway,

said s, capital projects manager for the district, but

construction on the dehumidification system won't begin until 2003, with a

tentative completion by August.

Workers are cleaning the ventilation system and sealing the air ducts with

anti-microbial paint, said Carstens, district maintenance director, a

move that will kill any mold already in ducts and prevent future growth.

About three-fourths of classrooms in the school have dehumidifiers, Carstens

said, but they don't really solve the problem. The real solution will be the

dehumidification system, which will cost the district about $2.7 million,

said , district spokesman.

" (Dehumidifiers) do help some, but they're not a dehumidification system, "

Carstens said, " they're temporary help. "

Teachers at the school agree, and say the problem needs to be solved now.

Jarrett, a Battery Creek teacher, said he has been having health

problems because of mold at the school since last year, and is on

medication. During the week, he has headaches and is congested, but symptoms

stop on weekends -- a sign Beaufort allergist Dr. Brown says

indicates mold allergies.

" The hallmark of a problem like this is they get better over the weekend,

and then as the week progresses, they get worse, " Brown said.

Brown has treated a few teachers from Battery Creek for similar problems, he

said, but no students. Although mold can seriously affect some people, usual

symptoms include headache, runny nose, coughing and fatigue, Brown said.

Jarrett was one of the teachers who signed the March grievance, but says he

is not happy with the results.

" I am not satisfied with what's being done, " he said. " I just think it's a

sick building and they're trying to hide it. I think the teachers and the

students are getting cheated. "

Jarrett said he is looking for a lawyer because he filed for worker's

compensation benefits for his allergy problems in December of last year, but

has heard nothing from district officials about the claim.

Tara Ard, another teacher at the school, is also on medication because of

sensitivity to mold. Her allergies started four years ago, when she took the

teaching post at Battery Creek, and have become progressively worse, she

said. Like Jarrett's, Ard's symptoms disappear during weekends and summer

vacations.

The room dehumidifiers helped for a while, she said, but now the mold is

getting worse. The real solution would be to install a completely new

ventilation system, Ard said.

" I haven't seen any mold, " she said, " but some days you can smell it. I know

it's there. "

Jarrett said he has seen mold in classrooms and offices throughout the

building, on ceiling tiles, carpet, podiums, books and chalkboard erasers.

The problem got worse over the summer, he said, with intensified mold growth

where it had been last school year and new growth in other areas.

Carstens said mold growth is not a problem at the school.

" I'm not going to say there's mold growing at the school, " he said. " At

times, we will have some mildew or mold that shows up. If it becomes

evident, we address it. It's not like there's mold growing all over the

school. "

Ard said she thinks the problem is serious.

" We have kids complaining, " she said. " I think it's very bad. I just don't

think it's been delved into -- there's something underlying there that

(district officials) need to get to. It's sort of like a little mystery that

they haven't quite solved yet. "

Battery Creek High Principal Rodney could not be reached for

comment.