NBC4 reports on Parents Speaking Out on Cell Tower proposed for High School

Prince George’s County parents speaking out at a meeting this week on Rushern Baker’s no bid, no public input, no transparency or accountability cell tower deal with Milestone Communications. Milestone Communications is one of the sponsors of all of the Board of Education vacations to Ocean City every year and gave $5,000 to a ballot initiative of Rushern Baker’s.

The Ocean City vacations for board members are arranged through MABE the board of education club run by Frances Glendenning. Milestone Communications is a no bid sponsor of the MABE organization and gets to advertise and have meetings with board members out of public view. (Insert music to “It’s a Small World”).

• >>> Read more >>> MABE Corruption ruining schools in Maryland.
• >>> Read more >> Greenbelt Residents Worried About Health Effects of Cellphone Tower

Rushern Baker’s no bid, no public input, no transparency or accountability cell tower deal with Milestone Communications is creating major conflicts and issues in the county. Milestone Communications is one of the sponsors of all of the Board of Education vacations to Ocean City every year and gave $5,000 to a ballot initiative of Rushern Baker’s.

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Board of Education Meeting 4/25/17

At 44:00. District Heights ES — A Parent gave very emotional testimony about chemicals released within the District Heights Elementary school. It is not a safe environment. Contractors walking in and out without badges who don’t sign in and just walk through the building. The children need to be moved until the work is done. The chemicals released today were harmful. The parent and her children had headaches. Other children feeling sick. 40% of the teachers weren’t there because they are sick. It is not safe for the children to be in that building. The children are there to get an education and not to get sick or die. The band-aids are fine, but get the children out while the rest of the work is done. They need help and they need the Board to do something.

At 53:41. Tayac Elementary School — School has poor leadership and needs new leadership due to hostile work environment. Speaker’s son had brain concussion and asthma attack due to incident at school. Her child was also told he cannot go to the bathroom when he needs to. Hostile and unsafe environment. There is no school nurse b/c they have “no budget for one.”  School and its budget needs to be investigated.

At 56:24. Local 2250: Support Your Support System — Shirley Kirkland, President of Local 2250 (6,000 members) spoke. PGCPS is exposing children and staff to life-threatening pollutants. Children and staff have a right to be in a safe environment. Facilities need to be inspected. Schools particularly inside the beltway have these issues. She also asked if Agenda Items 6.1- 6.14 include no mention of the amount of wage increases and whether it should it be included.

At 1:10:24. Board Member Blocker — [was cut off shortly after he started his comment] thanked parent for coming out and bringing attention to the issue at District Heights Elementary school.

>>>Read more 

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Maryland governor appoints a New chief judge to Court of Special Appeals for Maryland after Complaints.

Judge Patrick L. Woodward is the New Chief Judge for Maryland Court of Special Appeals. 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Due to serious ongoing public corruption in Maryland involving Judges and other public officials. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has appointed a new chief judge on the state’s intermediate appellate court (Maryland Court of Special Appeals for Maryland).

The Republican governor announced the appointment of Judge Patrick Woodward to the position on the Court of Special Appeals on Friday. The appointment is effective May 6, 2017.

Woodward has served on the Court of Special Appeals since 2005, when he was initially appointed by Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich.

Before that, Woodward served as a judge for both the circuit and district courts of Montgomery County.

Woodward will fill the vacancy left by former Chief Judge Peter Krauser. During his tenure, Judge Krauser mishandled serious cases to the detriment of plaintiffs who sought justice in his court. The conflict was so obvious that he was asked to step aside.

Chief Judge Peter Krauser announced retirement shortly after members of Reform sasscer Movement filed several complaints due to various conflicts of interests involving the state court >>>Read more  >>>Corruption is in full swing in the Maryland Judiciary!

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan poses with a bill during a bill signing ceremony in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, April 12, 2016, the day after the closing of the 2016 legislative session. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has appointed a new chief judge on the state’s intermediate appellate court (Maryland Court of Special Appeals for Maryland).

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Prince George’s County Council Upset Over Unspent Litter Funds

UPPER MARLBORO – The department of public works and transportation (DPW&T) is one of the more visible government agencies, responsible for street repair, snow removal and TheBus service. As the county council reviews their budget request for this year, they want to make sure residents see the results of those investments.

At the Transportation, Housing & the Environment (THE) committee work session on April 19, council members grilled DPW&T staff about initiatives they had funded last year which, some council members felt, were not seeing appropriate progress. Several members brought up the $2 million litter clean-up initiative included in the fiscal year 2017 approved budget. The money was intended to pay contractors to go out into each councilmanic district and pick up trash – but, as of the meeting, none of it had been spent, with only two and a half months left in the fiscal year.

“This is your operating budget. This isn’t something we wanted to see over two and three years. We are drowning in litter. It is everywhere. I cannot see any rationale- this is not a high-level activity, picking up litter – I can’t see any rationale why we have not spent that budget,” Mary Lehman, the committee’s vice-chair, said. “I personally wanted to see all of that $2 million spent by now. I really don’t understand it. I feel like we would have been better spent giving it to the department of corrections or somebody else. It’s just not acceptable.”

Darryl Mobley, director of DPW&T, said contract delays are the reason the money remains unspent. He said the department began the bidding process in September, with a Request for Proposals (RFP). But, the bidders who submitted during the first round were unresponsive, so a second round had to commence.

Gwen Clerkley, associate director for the office of highway maintenance, said the department is currently negotiating with the one bidder who was responsive to get the bidder to come up with a new plan that falls within the $2 million budget.

“They are going back, reviewing their numbers. They based their estimate solely on providing four crews of four for every council district. We asked them to go back and structure a program that would allow them to go back and meet the need,” she said. “It is our hope to have services in place by May 1.”

Mobley added that although that specific pot of money has not been spent, the department has staff out in the field “every day” cleaning up litter.

“The department of public works and transportation continues to pick up litter every day, in conjunction with the department of the environment. We work very closely with the department of corrections,” he said. “We have collected approximately three-and-a-half million pounds of litter as of February, when we reported the numbers to the office of audits.”

Councilwomen Deni Taveras echoed Lehman’s concerns about trash in her district, specifically around bus stops that do not have trash cans.

“A lot of times people will just tie a bag there, and it just overflows. At the end of the day, we just have trash everywhere,” she said. “We’re in a desperate state in terms of litter in my district.”

Last year’s budget also included $20 million for street resurfacing projects, with the FY18 proposal calling for another $10 million. Lehman expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of street resurfacing projects as well, saying the RFP did not go out until December (halfway through the fiscal year).

“This was not meant as a CIP (capital improvements program) project. This is operating money. So what happens to it?” Lehman asked. “My constituents want their roads resurfaced in real time, in their lifetime. And they’re waiting for years.”

Clerkley explained that the contractors don’t work on one road at a time; rather, they complete the first step on every road on their list, then move to the next step, and so on.

“Contractors don’t really work on a per-road basis. And I think that’s part of the miscommunication,” she said. “For now, it is more expeditious and cost-effective… for the roads that we’ve assigned to them, they go through and do all of their concrete work, then they will mill the road and do the resurfacing.”

She added, “I hear your frustration.”

The FY18 budget proposal for the department totals $29.9 million, which is an increase of about 13.5 percent over last year. Some of that- $204,400- comes from the addition of five staff members to help implement the county council’s updated taxicab regulations passed last year. DPW&T is also working to refresh the seat cushions and covers on its bus fleet, as well as purchase new vehicles to replace the current ones, which the department says are rapidly aging. $1.2 million is projected for bus replacement in FY18. Money has also been set aside for new infrared technology to handle potholes and as well as a system that will allow the department to track its vehicles in real time during snow events. The automatic vehicle location system is budgeted for $450,000.

DPW&T is also responsible for rolling out the BikeShare program in the county, which is projected to cost $1.4 million for the first phase. However, Mobley said they are pursing grants to cover as much as $740,000 of that total. In all, the department is seeking to increase the amount of outside grants it receives by $1.6 million.

The department anticipates approximately $600,000 of overtime related to snow and ice removal, equipment repairs, and debris removal, which Mobley said was calculated based on historical trends.

Via Sentinel 

OPINION

Prince George’s County’s staggering and tragic corruption will not end until leaders with integrity and ZERO vested interests in the system replace thieves.

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7 ON YOUR SIDE asks PGCPS System: ‘What’s in the water?’

7 ON YOUR SIDE asks Prince George’s County Public Schools: ‘What’s in the water?’ (ABC7)

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (ABC7) — Prince George’s County Public Schools may have a problem with their water and 7 ON YOUR SIDE I-Team Investigator Scott Taylor has discovered many parents had no idea until now.

The I-Team has uncovered Prince George’s County Public Schools hasn’t completed a system-wide test of drinking water since 2009, even though the school district has been aware of on-going high levels of lead in the water since 2004

Right now, 88 school buildings have their water sources shut off. Students and teachers have been drinking bottled water.

7 ON YOUR SIDE originally asked for an on-camera interview with PGCPS CEO Kevin Maxwell, but we were able to sit down with the Director of Building Services Sam Stefanelli instead.

Taylor: “Do you have water fountains or bubblers right now in your school district that kids are drinking?”

Stefanelli: “Yes.”

Taylor: “And when were those last tested? 2009?”

Stefanelli: “2009.”

Taylor: “How do you know that water is safe to drink if you haven’t tested it since 2009?”

Stefanelli: “We only know what the tests from 2004 to 2009 showed us.”

Taylor: “So you don’t know if those levels have changed since 2009?”

Stefanelli: “No, I don’t.”

Taylor: “And kids are still drinking that water?”

Stefanelli: “Yes.”

The I-Team obtained a 2004 report from the Environmental Protection Agency, along with school district documents, that reveal 2,600 water sources were tested in 2004 and 90 percent came back at or above the EPA’S 20 parts per billion recommended lead level. A new Water Quality Program replaced or valved off fixtures.

Five years later, 30 percent of more than 17,000 water sources were at or above the EPA’s lead-levels. Again, fixtures replaced. Then, 51 schools started using bottled water.

“I’m confident the kids have safe drinking water,” Sam Stefanelli told Taylor.

District wide, as far as School Officials can tell ABC7 News, parents were never notified about past year’s lead levels until this year.

“Do you think these schools are safe to be drinking their water?” Taylor asked Khadija Bowen, a parent whose child attends public school in the county.

“No, not at all,” Bowen said.

Bowen says she is going to get her daughter’s blood tested.

Last October, 45 classroom and bathroom sinks tested above EPA guidelines at Glenridge Elementary.

Bowen: “I shouldn’t have to fight for this.”

Taylor: “Clean water?”

Bowen: “I shouldn’t have to be writing my Congressman, my Governor, my School Board, Superintendent. I shouldn’t have to be doing that to be able to send my child to school and be okay with the fact her water is clean.”

Theodora Scarato another concerned parent, has dedicated an entire blog to this issue.

“Why allow any level of lead in the water?” Scarato said. “It needs to be completely cleaned up.”

Up until the year, the school district delayed the final phase of its Water Quality Program. Now, after the I-Team started asking tough questions, all water sources will be tested this Spring.

“So you could have dangerous levels right now in your district that are being swallowed up every day by your students and staff and you have no idea because you haven’t done testing since 2009? That’s a possibility, right?” Taylor asked Stefanelli.

“I guess that is a possibility,” Stefanelli said.

Some parents tell 7 ON YOUR SIDE that their kids will continue to drink bottled water in the school district until they graduate from high school.

All the School District’s lead testing results and documents given to the I-Team from the School District including EPA reports have been posted below.

Jan 10 Response to Taylor, Scott (ABC 7 News) by ABC7 News on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

Glenridge Elementary Letter to Parents by ABC7 News on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

PGCPS Lead Lab Results 2008-2010 by ABC7 News on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

2011-2012 Lead in Water Lab Results by ABC7 News on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

2013 Lead Lab Results #1 – Mattaponi Results by ABC7 News on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

2013 Lead Lab Results #2 – Mattaponi PbResults by ABC7 News on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

PGCPS 2014 Lead Lab Results 3-2-16 (1) by ABC7 News on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

2015 Lead Tests – Ardmore ES Media Response Laboratory Reports 2-11-2016 by ABC7 News on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

2016 List of Schools With Water Sources Shut Off by ABC7 News on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

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PGCPS System bus drivers call investigations unfair

UPPER MARLBORO, MD (WUSA9) – Prince George’s County School bus drivers say it’s taking too long to for the school system to investigate a spike in complaints of alleged misconduct, resulting in employees being forced to languish on paid administrative leave for months at a time.

At least 126 bus drivers have been swept up in what some teachers, support staff and administrators have characterized as a “witch hunt” environment created by new policies meant to protect child safety in the wake of abuse scandals in 2016.

In total, at least 636 school employees have been accused of misconduct and placed on paid administrative leave for periods ranging from days to months, according to school officials.

Employees and union representatives say frequently the allegations are completely false, or minor matters that could be dealt with at the school level.

“I feel like my hands are tied and I can’t do my job,” said bus driver Jossalyn Ford, who is also a union shop steward for her AFSCME local.

Ford says the large numbers of drivers placed on leave has resulted in a driver shortage, late busses and an environment of intimidation for the remaining drivers.

Some drivers are afraid to engage with children or intervene to stop rowdy behavior for fear of being accused, Ford said.

“It’s impacting safety,” said Shirley Kirkland of AFSCME.

In the wake of the 2016 scandals, a school safety task force determined too many potential misconduct allegations or suspicions were either not being reported, ignored, or hidden.

Reforms have emphasized that the first responsibility of students and staff is to report any potential violation, no matter how minor. A spike in allegations has resulted.

All allegations are investigated by Prince George’s County Child Protective Services before being handed off to the school system’s security office and administrators.

Employees have complained that students use reporting against adults, who have been put on leave for months while there are investigations into issues as minor as alleged incidental contact in a crowded hallway, using the word “asinine”, or a child getting off at a friend’s bus stop.

School officials say they cannot provide information about how many of the hundreds of allegations have resulted in disciplinary action or were determined to be unfounded.

via wusa9

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Jury awards $100,000 to family of girl in PGCPS school bus assault.

Responding to a bullying incident caught on video, a jury has said Prince George’s County schools must pay $100,000 to the family of an elementary student who was assaulted by another girl on a school bus as other children agitated for a brawl.

The assault on Saraia Collins, who was a 9-year-old Highland Park Elementary School student at the time, was captured on cellphone videos by other students, and left her with a concussion and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to her attorney and her mother. The family contended the school bus driver should have stopped the vehicle or intervened sooner as the girl was being pummeled and screaming, “Stop! Stop!”

Tierra Holland, Collins’s mother, said bringing the lawsuit wasn’t about money but about holding the school system accountable in the 2015 incident.

“They never apologized, not one time,” said Holland, 32. “If I had gotten an apology or something disciplinary to students, I wouldn’t have done this, but I needed some kind of justice.”

The jury’s verdict was returned Wednesday in county circuit court.

Asked about the case, a spokeswoman for the school system, Lynn McCawley, said that “it is not our policy to comment on legal matters.”

Brian K. McDaniel, the attorney for Holland’s family, said video of the girl’s beating was disseminated on YouTube among students, adding to her trauma.

[Former school aide, choir director pleads guilty to child porn charges]

“The jury took into consideration the actual assault was captured on video and that it is something she will have to deal with for the rest of her life,” McDaniel said.

The incident happened on the afternoon of May 8, 2015, he said. Saraia, a fourth-grade student at the time, was on her way home from school when students on the bus began yelling that they wanted to see a fight.

The bus driver stopped and went to the back of the bus to address the disruption, then returned to the front, McDaniel said.

Another girl on the bus, a second-grader, confronted Saraia at that point, challenging her to fight, video of the incident shows.

 “I’m not fighting you!” Saraia is heard screaming repeatedly on video.

The driver again stops and confronts the students.

“He tells the young lady threatening Saraia, ‘I’m going to take you back to school,’ ” McDaniel said. “He goes back to the front. Then she is assaulted for two minutes.”

The video shows Saraia screaming, “Get out of my face, I’m not going to fight you,” before the second-grader climbs on Saraia’s seat, towers over her and starts to slap her.

Video shows the second-grade girl pinning Saraia down with one arm and repeatedly punching her head with the other. The bus appears to remain in motion while children jump and scream.

[For years, Pr. George’s didn’t strengthen school sex-abuse policies]

“The other kids on the bus are yelling and screaming, and the bus driver doesn’t do anything,” McDaniel said. “He doesn’t file a report or call the police.”

The end of the video shows Saraia curled up in a ball in her seat and crying. A boy mimics and mocks her sobs.

Holland said she was brought to tears when she first saw the video.

Holland said her family had complained to school administrators in the past about incidents involving the student seen on video attacking her daughter, but said the school system never reprimanded the girl. She had to take the video to Prince George’s County police to get action in her daughter’s case, Holland said.

“What we are teaching these children and bullies out there is if you do something wrong, you get a slap on the wrist,” she said.

Holland’s daughter is now 11 and attends private school.

In the two years since the bus attack, Holland said her daughter has changed. The once outgoing “social butterfly” is withdrawn and quiet. She won’t sleep unless a light remains on because she’s afraid of the dark, her mother said.

“I’m hoping that eventually she will go back to being her,” Holland said. “I want her to get her youth back and be a child.”

Via Washington Post

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PGCPS Teacher morale being crushed in Prince George’s County

BOWIE, MD (WUSA9) – Teacher morale is being crushed by a “witch hunt” atmosphere in Prince George’s County that has resulted in at least 636 school staffers being placed on paid administrative leave since August to investigate allegations of misconduct that prove to be unfounded or minor, according to union officials and a teacher who is currently being investigated.

“Teachers now feel they can’t do their job,” said Ritchie Knox, a masters degree-holding art teacher who remains on paid administrative leave after a misconduct allegation leveled against in in mid-January.

“There are good and great teachers on leave right now for things that wouldn’t have been (issues) a year or two years ago,” Knox said.

RELATED: Hundreds of Prince George’s Co. staff suspended for misconduct cases

The irony, Knox says, is that reported a concern he had to Prince George’s Child Protective Services himself, and is now the one paying the price by being taken off the job.

“I bought into the system and I followed the protocols and training,” Knox said. “I trust they’ll figure out what’s going on and I’ll be exonerated and I’ll get back to work.”

Knox and employee union officials say the school system was not prepared to handle the flood of reports they got after dramatic reforms made in 2016 regarding child safety in the wake of abuse scandals, including the conviction of a school volunteer who for coercing children to make pornographic cell phone videos.

All school employees were retrained with an emphasis on reporting any suspicion or incident, no matter how minor, and regardless of whether there was hard evidence immediately available.

Teachers and principals have been placed on leave and investigated for issues as minor has having incidental “bumping” contact with students in crowded hallways, according to Doris Reed of the Association of Supervisory and Administrative School Personnel, the union representing principals.

Reed said in one case a principal was fired even though authorities could not sustain the report against her.

In another case, a school staffer was placed on leave for using the word “asinine”, according to Knox.

RELATED: Abuse allegations on the rise in Prince George’s Co. schools

The paid administrative leave can last from two days to several months, according to Raven Hill, spokesperson for PGCPS.

Knox says colleagues complain that unruly students are quick to make reports of misconduct in order to punish teachers they have conflict with.

Parents are becoming concerned.

“Some of these students are making incidents up because they are failing classes and getting back at the teachers,” reported one parent during a WUSA9 Facebook Live discussion on the subject Friday.

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FScottBroomWUSA9%2Fvideos%2F739308726240012%2F&show_text=0&width=560

Another parent complained her child has not had a regular math class for more than two months because of the crisis.

Board of Education member Edward Burroughs has begun to circulate a petition demanding a review of the system for reporting and investigating allegations of wrongdoing by school staff.

RELATED: Teacher’s aide accused of molesting children on Prince George’s Co. school bus

The administration of school CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell made a mistake by not including teachers or labor leaders in the safety task force formed after the 2016 abuse scandals, according to Theresa Dudley, President of the Prince George’s Educators Association, the union representing teachers.

The teacher’s union is concerned too many children are going without proper instruction because of the turmoil caused when teachers are yanked out of the classroom for investigations of minor misconduct.

Knox said he supports the school CEO and the efforts to make student safety the top priority, but the must be balance.

“The pendulum has swung too far,” Knox said.

PGCPS and Prince George’s Child Protective Services have added additional investigators to handle the increase in reports, Hill said.  She could not provide an exact number.

School officials say they cannot say how many accused school staff have had complaints cleared with no penalties, or how many have had complaints sustained against them.

Via WUSA9

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PGCPS SCHOOL BOARD REFORM DEFEATS IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION AFTER SABOTAGE

Delegate Carolyn Howard

PG -402-17 which was introduced by the Delegate Carolyn Howard and Senator Muse representing Prince George’s County at the request of County Citizenry and to oppose the role of the County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III failed to pass the general assembly after sabotage by public officials in Maryland.    In this blog, we reported that, on February 22, 2017, Delegate Carolyn Howard who is the Deputy Speaker Pro Tem and a Member of  Ways and Means Committee  decided to sabotage the bill and engage the issues in the dark.

Although many groups in Maryland got partial victories in Annapolis, advocates for reform of Prince George’s County’s school board can’t say the same. The measure to repeal HB 1107 and, supporters feel, give more power back to the board’s elected members, was weakened from its initial state but still failed to pass out of a Senate committee due to issues of public corruption which is an ongoing problem in Maryland.

According to the Prince George’s County Sentinel, Theresa Dudley, president of the Prince George’s County Educators’ Association, said the news was disappointing.

“I think that there clearly is some room for improvement in checks and balances, and I would be disappointed if it didn’t pass,” she said Monday afternoon.

We covered the story here previously and here >>>Democracy Dies in Darkness – The case of Delegate Carolyn J.B. Howard.

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BOARD MEMBERS CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION AT DISTRICT HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY

DISTRICT HEIGHTS – Although no mold spores were found in District Heights Elementary School, board members and several school-related unions are demanding removal of personnel and students from the school while air quality is improved in the building.

Last week, Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) hired an outside contractor to test District Heights Elementary for mold and decreased air quality after the community and some board of education members took their complaints to the media about students and staff illnesses they believe were caused by mold in the school.

“This is the definition of an emergency, where almost half of your staff and a significant population of your students have reported illness from a school system facility,” said Boardmember Edward Burroughs, III.

Burroughs and other members of the board have posted on their social media pages calling for immediate action to be taken at the school for the safety of both students and school personnel.

Additionally, the teacher’s union associated with the school system and its staff sent a letter to PGCPS asking for immediate action to ensure student and staff safety.

“Based on the persistent and prolonged symptoms experienced by numerous students and staff, it is quite evident there is an irritant present (at the school) that needs to be investigated. It is our opinion that your administrative procedure fully justifies our request for immediate relocation,” the letter reads.

Theresa Dudley, president of the teacher’s union, said she knew of a heightened absentee rate at the school, possibly indicating a health issue in the building

“The absentee rate is very high there because parents are concerned about their kids. And if kids are not learning, where are they,” she asked.

The letter signed by Dudley to the school’s chief executive officer says the union will file a formal complaint if students and staff are not removed from the building.

However, the results from the March 30 Tidewater, Inc. tests of the building showed only slight elevations of spores in some locations of the school and no outward signs of mold. The testing included 10 separate locations of the school, picked out by the school’s principal and checked for indoor air quality. Two offices, six classrooms, a media room and a storage room were included on the test.

Mark Fossett, who is the PGCPS supporting services head, said there is no standard to measure against in regards to mold spore counts but said that, in general, the counts inside a building should be lower than outside. The spore count outside and around the elementary school building was approximately 990 per cubic meter.

“When those results came back, nine out of 10 of those spaces tested below what the outside ratings were,” Fossett said. “Only one, room four, tested marginally above. Those numbers came back at 1,250 in that area.”

Fossett said the contractor indicated those slight elevations would not impact total air quality.

In addition, the health department also inspected the building and found no signs of mold. However part of the Tidewater test found dust analysis results below federal guidelines and elevated amounts of carbon dioxide in four classrooms, according to a letter from Tidewater.

In general, Fossett said, what the test found was poor air quality throughout the building due to a number of maintenance issues and the age of the school. Due to the dust analysis, another air quality test was conducted on May 5 on the entire building, according to the school system.

Tidewater gave PGCPS three major recommendations based on the findings of the air quality test, including charging the school system with replacing all water-stained ceiling tiles, ensuring the HVAC system is working properly and adjusting the system to improve air supply throughout the building. In response, PGCPS’s building services staff began work on the building and repaired 23 of 25 exhaust fans, cleaned out and serviced 11 of 26 classroom ventilators, cleaned and replaced the school’s air filters, and is in the process of cleaning and checking the entire ventilation system at the school.

“There were significant items that were on the property which were at non-functional – not functioning at their capacity,” Fossett said. “There was a significant number of exhaust fans – we have a total of 25 on that building and approximately 50 percent were not working or not working optimally.”

District Heights Elementary was scheduled for a number of maintenance projects over the summer, which have now been expedited, Fossett said. PGCPS anticipates adding six heat pumps in three classrooms, assessing the indoor air quality again and servicing 15 ventilators, two roof top units and the cafeteria air handler, all by April 13. The school system plans to install a third roof top unit by April 26 and replace all classroom temperature controls and the cafeteria air handler controls by May 15.

A number of other maintenance projects are scheduled for May through the summer, according to a PGCPS release.

Dudley said although she is confident in the school system’s plan of action, she is unsure if students and staff should remain in the building while its vents are cleaned.

“Their plan is good. I think carrying out the plan while students and staff are in the building is misguided,” she said, explaining that whatever was sitting stagnant in the air ducts until that point is now being blown throughout the building. “I think the school system has an obligation to their students and staff members.”

She said she had already heard that one staff member and one child got sick last week due to fumes in the school. This is something Burroughs also brought up during the recent board of education meeting.

Burroughs said, during that meeting, that he also thinks students and staff should be temporarily located while PGCPS works to improve the air quality.

“We still have employees getting sick and we still have students getting sick,” Burroughs said. “Until we know for sure that the building is safe for students and staff to work in, I think we should pull them out.”

But several members of the board argued against “rash” decision making, including K. Alexander Wallace, who is the board representative for the District Heights area.

Wallace said the principal of the school does not want to relocate and he trusts both the leadership at District Heights and the science that indicated there is no immediate threat to health at the school.

“I will not play to folks’ emotions. You have your choice to have your own emotions about this issue. You do not have the choice to have your own facts,” Wallace said. “I trust science. I trust the principal at that school… and I trust her leadership.”

Via Prince George’s County sentinel 

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