MBUSD asbestos cleanup nearly complete, but mold problems arise at MBMS, MCHS
Asbestos disturbed by a construction project in August has been packed up and is awaiting final removal from the Mira Costa High School library, which will likely finally be cleared by public health officials by the end of this week. But a new public health problem has emerged at both MCHS and Manhattan Middle School — the discovery of mold in at least 17 classrooms.
The Board of Education last week authorized the testing of all rooms at both schools for mold and moved toward several expensive long-term fixes to ensure the problem does not arise again, including repairs to roofs and air conditioning systems, vent installations, new cleaning equipment, and the hiring of as many as 26 new maintenance workers.
Assistant Superintendent Dawnalyn Murakawa Leopard told the board the mold has been caused by a number of different problems: HVAC issues, particularly in portable classrooms; the construction of the portables themselves; carpeting that was cleaned but not allowed to fully dry; inadequate ventilation; and in one case a faulty hot water heater.
“It’s been scattered and different sources,” she said.
Murakawa Leopard drew particular attention to the challenges facing maintenance staff.
“One of the things we should think about is we have increased our facility use in the summer,” Murakawa Leopard said. “The window of time people have to clean areas that are in heavy use is shortened. So there is pressure on staff to get a lot done in a short time.”
“Something like a broken water heater that goes undetected — does that mean we need more staffing?” asked board member Christine Cronin-Hurst. “How do we make sure something like that doesn’t happen?”
Murakawa Leopard said more staffing was needed. Board member Jennifer Cochran noted that the district’s Maintenance and Operations staffing has been repeatedly cut over the last decade and a half and suggested the time has come to find a way to rebuild that department.
“What we need to do is figure out where we will find the funding, because as we all know we have cut everything away from the classroom since 2002, and it’s been very intentional,” Cochran said. “We don’t want to cut teachers, we don’t want to increase class sizes, we don’t want to cut programs, but…M & O has [taken] the biggest hit.”
In a separate presentation regarding maintenance staffing, Murakawa Leopard showed that the district is staffed far below recommended levels, with only 31 of the 35 recommended custodians, six of a recommended eight grounds crew, and 10 of a recommended 16 to 34 maintenance crew.
“We have these ten guys maintaining the entire district,” she said.
The board approved the hiring of a new director and two maintenance crew. They also authorized the testing of every room at both MBMS and MCHS for mold; only two-thirds had thus far been checked, a total of 78 rooms at both campuses.
“We can do that,” said Murakawa Leopard. “It’s a conversation I’ve been having with our consultants, and they do not think it’s merited or recommended — they are not saying we should go in every room.”
“Cost is an issue, but if it’s reasonable, why not test them all?” said board member Bill Fournell.
Board president Kim Komatinsky said that while mold issues have been blamed on technical issues such as HVAC, which was installed campus-wide two years ago due to heat-related health concerns, local environmental conditions also play a role.
“It’s easy to point your fingers at HVAC issues, but clearly there’s been some sort of construction issues over time that has lead to this, and because we are also at the beach, too,” she said. “Let’s face facts — we are not Riverside, where it’s dry in the summertime and things dry out quickly. We have a higher level of moisture in the air just living so close to the water.”
Many of the fixes, along with AC Repair, will take time, Murakawa Leopard said. Assessments will be made for all the carpet in classrooms, with replacement of vinyl-based flooring a possibility.
“Importantly, we need to make sure our staff is trained in all the kinds of procedures that we need to have in place in order to be proactive and preventative,” Murakawa Leopard said. “We know that moisture [accumulation] doesn’t necessarily have to lead to mold, as long as we address it promptly and effectively.”
“So it’s a long list of things to do,” she added. “We are looking forward to being able to move beyond dealing with this as a crisis and being able to have systems that will allow us to be proactive and preventative.”
“None of these things can happen immediately,” said Cochran. “The important thing, I think, is to make sure we are paying attention, in crisis mode, to our staff and our student’s health. So if we do tests in all of these rooms at least we will know which rooms.”
The asbestos issue at MCHS, meanwhile, is nearing a resolution. In mid-August, the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued violation notices to the district and two contractors for the illegal removal, handling, and disposal of asbestos found in the school library.
The violations stemmed from a complaint received by SCAQMD on Aug. 16, which alleged that asbestos-containing floor material was being disturbed in a textbook storage room, located within the library, while students, parents, and staff were present for school registration. Inspectors responded the same day and found that workers had used a power grinder on the floor and had indeed disturbed asbestos. School officials immediately cordoned off both the library and three adjacent classrooms and hired an environmental firm to remediate the problem.
“All of that work has been completed,” Murakawa-Leopard told the board. “There was a lot of work involved because the cleaning people had to go in to determine what was porous and therefore needed to be disposed of — as well as what could be cleaned — and they needed to remove that out of those spaces and then address the flooring underneath. That was quite a bit of work and a long process; that work is now complete. They’ve done their final clearance testing…the area is clean.”
Public health officials are expected to give clearance for use of the library and adjacent areas this week.