Serious Concern
As a result of a recent FOIA, information was released that gives serious concern that the information provided to the public at the August 20, 2009 public forum and still posted online, was not truthful.  The abandoned May Whitney Report and the powerpoint presentation pertinent slides are 22, 23, and 40 (see below).

---

March 2010
The School Board and Administration have scheduled a Community Forum for Thursday, March 18th from 7:00-9:00pm at Middle School South.  Community members may present questions in person or in writing at the forum, or via email from home during the webcast.  Emails may be sent to Forum@lz95.org; this mailbox will be available for questions and comments through March 18^th, 2010.    Pass the word....

---

December, 2009

EPA developed the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools (TfS) Program to reduce exposures to indoor environmental contaminants in schools through the voluntary adoption of sound indoor air quality management practices.

The IAQ Tools for Schools Program is a comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting, and preventing IAQ problems. Poor indoor air quality can impact the comfort and health of students and staff, which, in turn, can affect concentration, attendance, and student performance. In addition, if schools fail to respond promptly to poor IAQ, students and staff are at an increased risk of short-term health problems, such as fatigue and nausea, as well as long-term problems like asthma.

Since its release in 1995 (just re-released this year), the IAQ TfS Action Kit has been implemented in hundreds of schools across the country. School districts that have implemented IAQ TfS find that there are common elements to successfully implementing the program. 

1. Organizing a program with a committed group of individuals dedicated to ensuring good IAQ and with clear support from senior management
2. Assessing current IAQ conditions and issues
3. Creating a Plan outlining a strategic approach to identifying, resolving, and preventing IAQ problems
4. Taking Actions to improve IAQ in the school that lead to increased student and staff health and productivity
5. Evaluating the IAQ management program by tracking and assessing results
6. Communicating the intent, results, and next steps of the IAQ management program

The IAQ TfS Program assists school districts in identifying the actions they can take to successfully plan and implement and effective IAQ management Program.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

October, 2009

Good News! This week the Board of Education granted access to CRA into May Whitney Elementary. CRA will have unfettered access to conduct their environmental assessment of the building. The assessment will take place in the coming weeks taking into account weather conditions. We found ourselves smiling and nodding in agreement while listening to their discussion. They acknowledge the concerns of the community and the reasons for the concerns. A Board Member commented that granting access will provide checks and balances. We could not have agreed more. Please stay tuned and thank you for your support in helping to make this happen! 

May Whitney Community Forum 8/20/09

Forum Video:

http://www.lz95.org/Media/media.htm

Originally Recorded on Thursday, August 20 at 7:00 pm
(Playback approx 3 hours)

 

Daily Herald Newspaper Article:

Parents want more testing of May Whitney

Five days before the start of the new school year, tensions ran high about the environmental quality of May Whitney Elementary School in Lake Zurich.

At a community forum on the topic Thursday night, Lake Zurich Unit District 95 officials and representatives from independent agencies that have tested the facility attested to the building's safety.

Voices were raised as some parents were not convinced of the building's safety and criticized officials for taking a reactive response to the issue.

"This is not a reactive situation," said Board of Education President Kathy Brown. "People have been very proactive about these situations. We moved out of (the former May Whitney building)."

Brown did acknowledge the district is facing many issues with old facilities but cannot do everything because of a tight budget. She said doing everything the board would want to would cost $35 million to $40 million.

"We have openly stated that what we do in this district is Band-Aid our facilities," she said.

Small amounts of asbestos-containing materials are present in pipe insulation in mechanical rooms, some vinyl floor tiles and mastic and some bricks, but none has been found in the air.

But some inaccessible areas above ceilings have not been tested and roof leaks have parents concerned that if there is asbestos up there, it could be disturbed and create health hazards.

"We don't know if we have (issues) in those inaccessible areas, so all that we have are these air quality tests," said local parent Eileen Maloney, as she asked officials to do more testing.

The facility, also known as the Annex, has been the home of May Whitney since 2007. The elementary school's original location flooded in 2007, eventually revealing the presence of asbestos and stachybotrys, a toxic strain of mold.

The current location formerly housed a middle school and had been used for storage since 2007. The portion of the building that houses May Whitney is 55 years old and the unused portion of the building is 80 years old.

School: Parents concerned about asbestos

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=315288&src=61 

========================================

Depending on what you find during the walk-through inspection, there are several different steps you may need to take to help solve the problem. You may find it necessary to hire one or more professionals to fix, or to further identify, the problems. For example, you may need a mechanical engineer, a heating, ventilation and air conditioning expert, a cleaning and restoration professional, an industrial hygienist, or some other type of consultant. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed an innovative program called Tools for Schools that can assist schools in identifying and addressing IEQ problems. To learn more about the program or to obtain a kit, please go to http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/tools4s2.html.

 

For more information about IEQ, visit the Illinois Department of Public Health Web site topics list at

www.idph.state.il.us/a-zlist.htm

 

Our thanks to Representative Ed Sullivan Jr. for his diligence in assisting our community group in bringing the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) into the New May Whitney for an investigation of possible moisture and mold problems.  We turned to him a year ago, when suddenly May Whitney School was closed due to chronic flooding and the discovery of toxic mold. The Annex was reopened and converted to the New May Whitney School. 

 

All along it was our goal to get governmental agencies into the building to determine whether or not there was a moisture or mold problem.  It was finally in July 2008 that the IDPH investigated the building.  Thus far the district administration and Board of Education have relied on mold testing that according to the IDPH was unreliable and could not establish that the indoor air quality in the New May Whitney was acceptable and safe.

 

There are two parts of IDPH’s recent investigation of May Whitney, the first for moisture and mold (conducted in July of this year) and the second will address the ventilation system in October or November (when the windows are closed and the building is occupied).

 

For a summary of IDPH’s recommendations for May Whitney, see Health Questionnaire Summary and Inspection Summary, found on our IL Dept of Public Health page, along with the full reports and the district’s response.  Please take a few minutes to review these informative and important documents.

 

We’d also like to thank the more than 600 community members who supported our petition.   It was unfortunate that a full year of persistence was even necessary, but it was.  Our administration and Board of Education attempted to make us out to be fanatics.  Rather, we are thorough; children’s health was dependent on it.

 

District 95 schools are in a difficult situation right now.  We acknowledge that with the discovery of the structural problems at several buildings, the administration and board have their hands full, but we stand by our stance that the May Whitney community deserves a safe and healthy building for our children.  We have just learned that Representative Sullivan has provided a grant in the amount of $55,000 to District 95 earmarked specifically for “School Facility Repairs.”  We think this is a timely development.

 

The IDPH reports make several suggestions to the district on how to ensure that May Whitney is a safe environment for students and staff.  It is our sincere hope that they will follow those suggestions ensuring that they do indeed put safety first.