Company that built closed Cesar Chavez Elementary School blasts district

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Saturday, December 22, 2001

Company that built closed school blasts district

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MADISON -- The company that built an elementary school that has been closed

since Nov. 28 because of mold says the school district is going overboard in

its efforts to fix the problem.

Westra Construction of Waupun accused the district Thursday of an

" excessive, unnecessary and wasteful'' investigation into the mold situation

at Cesar Chavez Elementary School.

The company claimed in a letter to Superintendent Art Rainwater that the

efforts were not justified by recognized standards or guidelines.

In a second letter, the company said it will play no part in reconstructing

the school.

" We believe that the district's consultant has created an unreasonable and

unrealistic expectation for remediation,'' wrote attorney W. Mullins

of Wickwire Gavin, Westra's legal counsel.

The school opened in August.

After Chavez staff and students complained of persistent upper-respiratory

problems, air quality consultant Sharon Bessa found mold behind baseboards

in the first-floor kindergarten wing, and then in second-floor rooms in the

same wing.

District officials have said that a pipe rupture left standing water in the

first-floor wing during construction.

Bessa recommended closing the school and removing substantial portions of

drywall, baseboard, ceiling tiles and fixtures in about one-third of the

school's rooms. The work is being done by Superior Special Services of

Milwaukee, a mold cleanup company.

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