ROCKLAND CLEANUP - Mold trouble won’t let middle school open on time: First day

[Guest guest]

By JOHN P. KELLY

The Patriot Ledger

http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/08/29/news/news11.txt

ROCKLAND - Students' first day at the W. Middle School

has been pushed back two days as workers race to sterilize mold-

infested walls, reconstruct ceilings and clean classrooms.

The school's 625 students should report for their first day on Sept.

7, Superintendent Kerrigan announced last night. Rockland's

four other public schools will reopen as scheduled next Tuesday,

Sept. 5.

The decision to delay the middle school's opening day was made after

walls in five classrooms were ripped down so environmental

specialists could eradicate mold spores discovered growing behind

them. The contamination, now believed to be under control, is the

latest setback at the four-floor Taunton Avenue school, where

engineers and architects have been removing weakened sections of

plaster in nearly every room.

Repairs to the 78-year-old ceiling and reconstruction of the

dismantled walls should be finished by Friday, the project's general

contractor, Pallotta, said. Afterward, construction debris

and dust will have to be removed.

Last night, a panel of four contractors updated the school committee

on their progress.

During the discussion, Pallotta blamed rainwater seeping through the

building's front brick façade for the problematic plaster. Although

he said ``95 percent'' of that plaster has been removed, he

recommended a ``very aggressive inspection procedure from this day

forward.''

Kerrigan said quarterly inspections were likely.

Pallotta was hired Aug. 18 to lead inspections and repairs after a

25-square-foot section of ceiling plaster crumbled and fell onto an

empty school desk in late July.

A dropped ceiling of lightweight tiles hides the building's original

1928 ceiling, and when workers removed tiles in all 24 classrooms

and other offices, ``there was plaster everywhere,'' Pallotta said.

The results of air-quality tests ``did not come back promising;''

that led to the discovery of the mold infestations, said

Cohen, general manager of Envirotest Laboratory Inc. of Westwood.

Mold levels in the five classrooms - Rooms 111, 201, 202, 207, and

211 - were twice as high as the level considered acceptable, Cohen

said.

Determining whether the mold posed a threat to students' health

during the 2005-06 school year was beyond the scope of his work,

Cohen said.

Rockland's building inspector spent about four hours inspecting the

repair work on Friday, according to architect Habeeb, who

also told school committee members that regular inspections would be

wise.

``With the proper repeated inspections, you can maintain a safe

building there for some time,'' Habeeb said.

The cost estimate for the repair work, initially put at $40,000 and

later at $80,000 by school officials, now appears to be higher.

``It's safe to say it will be more than that,'' Kerrigan said.

How the school department will pay for the work remains undecided,

though it plans to ask for emergency money from the finance

committee. The school's insurer will cover $10,000 at most, school

committee Vice Chairman Mark Norris said.

A report to the capital planning committee, the town body that

recommends spending on capital projects, will ask for money that

would be spent on repairing the school's leaky façade, Kerrigan said.

Kerrigan said parents could expect to get a telephone call today

announcing the two-day postponement of the School's opening.

They will receive a letter later this week, he said.

``We've made very encouraging progress given the extent of the

problem,'' the superintendent said.

The state Department of Education is expected to help the school

reschedule the canceled school days.

P. may be reached at jkelly@... .