CHS Indoor Air Quality Issues

I've heard reports of some students and staff becoming ill and/or having minor respiratory symptoms at CHS this past week. It appears this is related to indoor air quality issues which CHS has seen before in recent years. The problem seems to be focused on the pipe tunnels located under the northeast portion of the school (the original building). A few years ago the openings from the pipe tunnel to the building above were sealed to reduce air incursion into the classrooms above.  The remedy may require assuring those seals are still sound, but also creating a negative air pressure in the tunnels so air is vented to the outside of the building rather than into the building.

A statement and action plan were communicated from the administration to students, parents and staff this week. I copied the announcement and action plan below:

"In recent weeks, staff at Cheshire High School has been reporting a variety of symptoms including headaches and respiratory issues with an apparent concentration in certain classrooms in the northeast section of the building.  In order to determine if the symptoms are related to the school building, a specialist was hired to thoroughly inspect the building and evaluate the indoor air quality at the school.  Results of the preliminary assessment have identified some moisture incursion in the utility tunnels under the north wing.  An action plan has been developed which includes several immediate corrective measures that are already under way which our specialist believes will solve the problem.  In addition, the District will work with an engineering firm to provide guidance on the cause and the potential solutions of the moisture incursion.

                               

We will be providing updates on the corrective action steps completed on the Cheshire High School website as well as through PowerSchool.  Any concerns or questions should be directed to Mr. Kevin Ryan, the Principal of Cheshire High."

 CHS Air Quality Action Plan

CHS Junior Chosen for D.C. Program

MRJ reports that CHS Junior Hasher Nisar was chosen to attend the prestigious U.S. Youth Program in Washington, D.C. This is the second year in a row that a CHS student was chosen from CT for this program. Congratulations Nisar!!!

You can read the full MRJ article here.

12/3 MRJ Article on CHS Boy's Locker Room

The 12/3 MRJ article describes the 12/2 BOE Business Meeting vote on the locker room. The BOE voted unanimously to approve up to $10K to solicit proposal and estimates from engineering firms on solutions to the locker room problems. The $10K will be taken from the $500K currently allocated to the project. Apparently, the last TC resolution/referendum assigned the project to the BOE, not the PBC. Although it's not assigned to the PBC, I believe PBC representation on this project is imperative to ensure the locker room is addressed appropriately and within PBC & ADA guidelines. As a first step, the BOE needs to solicit designs for the locker room, then garner estimates.

You may have seen me quote the phrase "Shoot, Ready, Aim!" in the past when it comes to certain Town & BOE capital projects. In some ways, this phrase applies to the locker room. Someone, somewhere derived a cost estimate of $500K which was put on the referendum and approved by voters. However, it appears that we don't know what the estimate truly is so we need to hire a firm, after the fact. Shouldn't the last BOE have voted to hire an engineering firm (FIRST) before arbitrarily picking $500K to be put on the referendum? Cart/Horse.

If you watched the meeting Thurs night, you heard misinformation from Stephen Mrowka regarding his recollection of the locker room. According to Stephen, the ceilings are less than 8 feet tall and the room is not usable whatsoever.  Stephen also indicated the last time he was physically in the locker room which was many years ago when it was used for shop class.

Back to reality for a moment...the ceilings are adequate and the drop ceiling system can be replaced/retrofitted to sit higher if needed. The reason the tiles are an issue is not due to students bumping their heads into them but rather the humidity/moisture that permeates the space. At least we all agree that the ventilation is a key issue for the space.

Regarding the drainage "issue", Mr. Mascianna reminded the BOE that it's been well over a year since the drain backed up in the locker room and that, coincidentally, the problem stopped after the drain was snaked some time ago.
I'm just trying to put the problems into proper perspective which seems to get buried under the embellishment of a few on the BOE.

The BOE Planning Committee's focus is to attack the four known issues in the current CHS Boy's locker room (Drainage, Ventilation, Locker Space, ADA Compliance). However, during Thursday's meeting, it was obvious that the administration and a few BOE members are hoping that whatever firm is hired for the design phase, will recommend a field house solution.

Preliminary estimates on a field house put's the cost around $1.2M. The voters approved $500K to fix the existing locker room, not to build a field house. There's no funding for a field house.

It seems that elevators are the bane of existence for our school district because should renovations be undertaken at the locker room, we may need to install an elevator for access to the locker room for ADA compliance in addition to ramps, specialized door handles, etc. Elevators seem start at $450K.

It could very well be that the cost to renovate the locker room will be more significant than $500K. Time will tell. Meanwhile, the BOE is preparing for what appears to be yet another difficult budget process.

Gov. Christie on New Jersey Union and School Reform

"Governor says voters should reject school budgets if teachers won’t accept concessions."  For those that follow Gov. Christie you'll know that he's on a mission to reform unions AND schools in NJ. In just over 11 months on the job, Christie has demanded that local school unions accept pay freezes and contribute more toward their benefits. He has rejected calls for higher school taxes and proposed a tight cap on property taxes. He has also called for a maximum salary for school superintendents throughout the state.

Basically, he's told the unions, and everyone else in the education community, that there's enough money available to get the job done, if they all make a few sacrifices for the common good. In this regard, CT and NJ share a similar problem/opportunity. Full article at:  No mincing words: Christie bashes New Jersey union for selfishness and slimy tactics

11/18 BOE Meeting Video

BOE business meetings for the 2010-2011 school year are now available through School Tube. It appears some meetings are missing from Aug-Oct but I expect them to be uploaded soon. Below is the 11/18 meeting. Alan Sobol gave a great summary about how BOE Policy 5131.62 came to be and what it is meant to do and not do. Alan's segment starts at the 65:30 minute mark.

Reminder: BOE Business Meeting Tonight 12/2

 

The big topic for the meeting is what to do about the $500K short-fall in Special Education funding. Due to a number of state placements in our district this school year, we are over budget on Special Education tuition costs and transportation.  Last year, the BOE was short $250K in this category but we froze several accounts to help off-set the overrun. However, the State reimbursed Cheshire for most of the expense in the form of revenue to the town which ended up in the town surplus.

However, in the current budget even freezing the usual technology, textbooks and supplies accounts won't cover the $500K shortfall. More than likely, the BOE may ask for help from the TC. Which brings up the issue of how to solve this variable-expense. Unfortunately, the school district does not know what all of the special ed placements are going to be until after the close of the fiscal year, which was June 30th. Most of these State placements occurred in July/August..

I'll post a separate topic about the costs and how Hartford reimburses Cheshire for partial special education expenses. At the least town receives some kind of reimbursement even though Hartford is supposed to follow it's own mandates of full reimbursement.