Lew Muckle teachers walk out over building conditions

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Lew Muckle teachers walk out over building conditions

By AESHA DUVAL

Tuesday, January 24th 2006

Daily News Photo by CRISTIAN SIMESCU Several Lew Muckle

Elementary School teachers sit outside on the school grounds

Monday morning while holding a job action. The teacher refused to go

into their classrooms Monday, claiming the school is not environment

ST. CROIX - Teachers at Lew Muckle Elementary School refused to open

their classrooms on Monday until the V.I. Education Department

improves the " unhealthy " conditions at the school.

Buses were called back in the early morning hours, and parents were

asked to pick up their children after teachers arrived to work but

would not go into their classrooms.

" The teachers decided they are not going into the classrooms, " Lew

Muckle principal Hoover said.

Hoover would not comment further on Monday but said there will be

no school at Lew Muckle today.

St. Croix American Federation of Teachers president Tyrone

Molyneaux said Education Department officials, teachers and school

officials will meet today with environmental experts to discuss

results of indoor air quality tests done at the school and whether

it is safe for students to return.

About 55 teachers work at Lew Muckle, which has a student

population of about 500, Molyneaux said.

" Some action was taken by the members and workers at the school to

bring attention to the health and safety concerns at the school on

behalf of themselves and the students, " Molyneaux said. " The union

believes this action could have been curtailed had there been better

communication between the workers at the school, administrators and

Education officials. " Monday's protest is the second at Lew Muckle

for the school year. In October, a few teachers at Lew Muckle taught

their classes outside to protest conditions at the school. Teachers

have complained of mold and leaks in the ceiling. The school's

library has been closed for about two years because of bad leaks.

St. Croix Superintendent Terrence ph, Deputy Superintendent

Cecelia Knowles and school administrators met with the teachers

Monday morning in the school's courtyard area and updated them on

work being done at the school.

ph said that maintenance crews have been working on the

problems at Lew Muckle, including repairing leaks, and that testing

was done to determine how serious the mold problem is at the Estate

Sion Farm school.

Technicians with Environmental Concepts Inc., which specializes

in analysis and removal of environmental health hazards, performed

air quality tests on Nov. 25 and detected " high " concentrations of

mold spores in parts of the school.

The report states that mold spore measurements in the outside

environment in the U.S. Virgin Islands show counts from 60 and under

during very dry conditions to counts of 300 per cubic meter under

very humid conditions in the rainy season. Therefore, the report

states, total mold spore counts below 300 can be considered within

limits for indoor air quality in the territory.

Of the 22 random air samples taken at Lew Muckle, all but two

showed total mold spore counts above 300. The highest detected count

in a classroom was 17,600 mold spores per cubic meter.

Other findings:

- Five classrooms and one administration office had mold

spore

concentration counts between 300 and 2,000 per cubic

meter

- Five classrooms had counts between 2,000 and 5,000

- Five classrooms had counts between 5,000 to 10,000

- Four classrooms had counts above 10,000

Verstraaten, microbial remediation specialist and Environment

Concepts president, wrote in the report that none of the samples

showed the presence of stachybotrys mold, commonly known as " toxic

black mold. " However, the following fungal spores were detected in

high quantities:

- Cladosporium, a fungal spore that is known to cause airway

allergens.

- Aspergillus/Penecillium, a very common mold spore, but in high

quantities could pose a health risk.

The National Allergy Bureau considers mold counts in air of 0-900

as low, to 2,500 as moderate, to 25,000 as high, and above 25,000 as

very high. At " high " levels most individuals with any sensitivity

will experience symptoms.

Indoor mold has been linked to a variety of health problems, from

runny noses and sinus problems to more serious breathing problems

and asthma, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention.

" Analyzing the laboratory results gives us reason for concern,

especially for a child-occupied facility, " Verstraaten wrote. " We

recommend to limit access to the worst areas. "

In his report, he recommended that remediation be done " as soon as

possible, in an effort to reduce the current fungal spore count. "

" If no biological remediation is done in this facility, the fungal

spore count will increase as these microbes multiply, and this will

only worsen the indoor air quality rapidly, " Verstraaten wrote.

ph said the department is working out a plan to decontaminate

the classrooms. It was not known Monday if classes can resume in

parts of the school with the least mold infestation while cleaning

is done or if the school will be shut down.

" After we speak with the experts, then we will determine what to

do, " ph said. A number of schools in the territory are plagued

with moisture and flooding problems, primarily due to lack of

maintenance. A mold problem has existed at H. Woodson Junior

High School on St. Croix for years, school officials said, but it

worsened last year.

The Education department shut down Woodson on Sept. 13 for mold

testing after teachers staged protests, refusing to teach until the

school was free of mold and mildew.

The department now holds two sessions of classes at Elena

Christian Junior High School, with Woodson students attending

classes in the afternoon.

Lew Muckle librarian Kye said that the conditions at Lew

Muckle are unhealthy and that teachers will not open their doors

until they are provided with a safe and healthy environment to

teach.

-Â Contact Aesha Duval at 774-8772 ext. 453 or e-mail

aduval@....