Guest guest Posted December 21, 2007 Report Share Posted December 21, 2007 Health concerns raised at Tempe school The Arizona Republic, Phoenix,AZ* and JJ Hensley Dec. 21, 2007 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1220tr- badair1221.html The Tempe Union High School District is making a dramatic statement as it pressures the state to pay for $17 million in repairs at one high school. It is telling state and local officials that malfunctioning ventilation equipment, dripping mold and high carbon dioxide levels at Tempe's Corona del Sol High School could be making people sick. District studies and the findings of a consultant, compiled and presented to officials last week, say that the school is plagued by smelly classrooms, mold and high levels of carbon dioxide in the air. advertisement The move is the latest battle in an ongoing war between school districts and the state School Facilities Board over renovation funds. The Tempe district says it needs emergency funding from the School Facilities Board to fix its ventilation problems and is threatening to join a lawsuit against the state if it doesn't get it. The state board reviewed the district's request this summer. While it acknowledged problems, including high CO{-2} levels, it determined that they didn't merit emergency funding. The matter goes before the board again in January. Meanwhile, teachers at the school fear what's in the air, walls and carpet - some believe it's even causing tumors. School officials have said little about the reports publicly. Pressed on Thursday, they said they don't believe the buildings make people sick. " To be very clear - if there had been things causing our people to be ill or causing disease or those kinds of things, we wouldn't even have the school even open, " Tempe Union High School district Superintendent Steve Adolph said. " We want our school and staff to be in an optimal quality environment. " Studies the district paid for show that the air could " exacerbate existing problems " such as breathing issues or a tendency to get colds, said Littell, a Tempe district spokeswoman. School's design The high school serves 2,712 students, who generally come from some of the city's most affluent neighborhoods. Another 200 or so administrators, teachers and support staff also spend their days there. Built in 1977 with federal funds, Corona was heralded as a leading innovation in energy conservation. Few windows and tight ceiling space for mechanical equipment created less space to chill and warm. But ultimately, officials say, this unusual design caused unintended consequences. Classroom air is stagnant because there is no place for old air to flow. The small ceiling space leaves little room for new air units hefty enough to do the job properly. The result: smelly classrooms, mold and high CO{-2} levels. The School Facilities Board did tests in 2001 that showed the air met muster, but they were conducted early in the day before students arrived. The district, concerned with the methods of those tests, hired Health Effects Group to do a comprehensive air-quality survey in 2006. The group concluded that the levels of carbon dioxide present in Corona buildings during the school day exceeded levels accepted by trade groups and the School Facilities Board's minimum requirements for air quality. The facilities board has so far refused to help fix the high school. As a result, the district is considering joining a lawsuit against the state if the board again refuses to help at a Jan. 25 hearing. Complaints raised Corona's East building, where a majority of the school's classrooms are, is reportedly the location of most of the problems. Student and teachers alike have complained over the years about funky smells, musty air and mold showing up on walls, floors and in closets. " The carpet became a breeding ground for mold, " Adolph said Thursday. Last summer, several staff members voiced concerns to the district about a " cancer cluster " in the East building, according to a presentation district administrators gave to community leaders last week. Barb , a former Corona special-education teacher and current City Council member, was diagnosed with a brain tumor this year. She said she knows of eight other instructors who spent years teaching in the East building and have had benign brain tumors or other forms of cancer. " It's a well-known fact that there have been years of concerns at that school, and we talked about the unhealthy environment every year, " she said. Neither nor her doctor can attribute her brain tumor directly to the mold or bad air. But the clustering of cancer cases paired with the air problems concerns . " I remember mold and black gooey water dripping down the walls, " said , who retired in 2005. " It looked like death, all dripping down. An environment like that can't be good for anybody. " Repairs under way The district has tried to solve some of the problems by ripping out drywall and carpeting in the high-traffic hallways. Some of that work is ongoing. Those repairs are part of the school's first phase of addressing the problem. There's a phase two and three, too, but the school doesn't know how it will pay for them. Administrators with the School Facilities Board would not comment, but Ortega, a sdale architect and board member, recalled hearing Tempe Union's arguments before the board during the summer. " It was my belief that perhaps at some point they might need to evaluate whether there was substantial grounds for rebuilding the school as opposed to continuing to chase problems, " Ortega said. Tempe Union administrators were cool to that idea. District officials will again ask the School Facilities Board for emergency assistance at the hearing slated for Jan. 25. If they are again turned down, the district will " be forced " to consider joining the lawsuit against the state, Adolph said. " If that is unsuccessful, we don't have any other avenue, " he said. Schapira, a state representative from Tempe and member of the House K-12 education committee, said Corona's problems were indicative of a larger issue that legislators need to address. " The School Facilities Board and the district, neither one has the resources, apparently, to solve the problem at this time, " Schapira said. " The state and the Legislature, we need to put our money where our mouth is. " Schapira said he would take up the school-funding issue when the legislative session convenes next year. " Corona del Sol is 30 years old, and we don't necessarily have the expectation that schools are meant to last longer than that to begin with, " Schapira said. " But that's no excuse. The question is, how are we going to protect our kids? We've got to devote some resources to fixing this building, or close it and build a new one. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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