by David Flint
The report on lead testing at Berlin Elementary School, arranged by Questar III BOCES and conducted last May and June, was finally posted on the Berlin Central School District’s website (berlincentral.org) earlier this month. The results have produced a fire storm of anger and confusion that was reflected at the School Board meeting attended by over 100 people on Tuesday evening, October 19.
The test results of dust wipe samples taken from window sills and troughs showed that four of the sills and 20 of the 23 window troughs had lead levels above hazardous levels. The Environmental Protection Agency defines 400 micrograms of lead per square foot in window troughs as hazardous. The average of the 20 samples was 5,400 micrograms and one sample, in room 207, tested at 33,244.
A memo sent to parents on September 24 by then Interim Superintendent Eileen Leffler said that an aggressive surveillance and weekly wet cleaning program had been initiated following guidelines from the State Education Department (SED) and the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The media was out in force to cover the blow up over lead paint that was the main topic of discussion at the School Board meeting. Most had been notified by a letter from Peter Danziger of the Albany law firm O’Connell and Aronowitz sent to County, State and Federal officials as well as to the Berlin Central School District and made available to television and print media. Danziger said he had been asked by a number of parents and concerned citizens to represent children at risk for lead poisoning and other dangerous conditions at the Berlin Elementary School. His letter noted that the District had knowledge of hazardous levels of lead as early as 2001. In 2008 testing of paint chips from the pillars in front of the building showed lead levels 10-30 times over the HUD designated hazard level. He noted, too, that lead abatement was to be part of the $19 million construction bond project that the voters rejected last December. Danziger said that BOCES had made recommendations for cleaning, retesting and encapsulation but that both BOCES and the Superintendent failed to explain or advise parents about the risks to children and adults of such high levels of lead.
Danziger repeated his concerns at the Board meeting and urged that further testing be done to include interior walls, stairs and ceilings as well as air and soil samples. He advised bringing in independent experts to advise the Board and staff. Professional testing and remediation should have been done years ago, he said, but the immediate problem threatens both children and adults with lead poisoning. He noted that he has represented children with lead poisoning in the past and knows that it is a very difficult problem to tackle on an emergency basis.
Blood Test For Lead Recommended
Danziger recommended strongly that all children and adults who might have been exposed should as soon as possible have a blood test taken for lead poisoning. He suggested that the Rensselaer County Health Department could help with this.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Brian Howard, on the job for only his twelfth day, said he had been doing some historical research to figure out how the District came to its current position. He started with an enrollment study some years back that predicted there would be 929 students this year in k-12. Actually, he said, there are 42 less than that. He looked at the required 5-year Building Survey done in 2005 and found that the Stephentown and Berlin buildings had both failed and Grafton was rated unsatisfactory and had a water well with a useful life of only five more years. A list of needs had been compiled including lead and asbestos abatement. It appeared there was declining enrollment and only one building big enough to hold all the elementary students. “Following the logic,” he found that a referendum had been scheduled for last December to fix it up but it was defeated by voters understandably angry in a terrible economy. He found that the District had been doing some long term planning but that, as in many districts, there had been some scrimping on buildings and grounds in order to hold down taxes.
Howard said it was not clear to him why the results of the lead study done last May and June were not presented until September. In any case a retesting had recently been completed and he had just received the preliminary results. As a brief summary he showed a chart that indicated the before and after comparison. Of the 11 classrooms retested nine still showed window troughs with readings above the EPA threshold for lead paint hazards, and one classroom had a window sill above the threshold. However, all the samples showed decreased levels of lead except for one that showed an increase. Samples from carpets and floors tested in a positive direction, and all were below EPA hazard standards. Howard concluded that there was evidence that the cleaning procedures had had some positive impact.
He suggested a tentative action plan. Immediately the HUD cleaning process should be increased from once a week to three times a week; the pillars should be encased in plastic; there should be daily checking for any paint chips around the outside of the building, and a review of steps should be taken in the classrooms such as keeping windows closed and frequent washing of hands. Intermediate steps would include the Board working with an architect, SED and others to develop and approve a plan that can be implemented over the December-January break for encapsulating the surfaces. Following that a longer term plan should be developed for the complete abatement of lead and asbestos at the elementary school. The plan should be submitted for voter approval in May of next year and, if approved, have the work done over the summer of 2011.
Beverly Stewart had a number of reservations. She said she was very concerned as a Board Member and a parent about leaving children in the building while the Board comes up with a solution. She suggested that Stephentown and Grafton could be reopened and possibly the fifth grade could be moved to Cherry Plain. The Grafton building, she said had shown only a very low level of lead in an exterior sample and Stephentown had not been tested.
She also felt that a much more extensive expanded retest should have been done. Relying on cleaning to keep children safe, with huge human error possible, she felt was not adequate. She worried about radon and other airborne problems increasing with no working ventilations system and the windows kept closed. She did not object to Howard’s short term steps but urged that the Board has to find out what the public wants to do in the long term. Putting $15 million into patching up an old school she thought was not advisable, and only if it can be determined that is what the voters want would she support another referendum.
Board Member Gina Goodermote suggested that the Board consider moving the students to Cherry Plain during remediation and putting that building on double sessions.
Board Member Alan Webster Jr. urged that the District take steps to make blood testing available at the school for the children of parents who wanted it and that parents who preferred to use their own physicians be asked to share the results of the tests. He also urged that more comprehensive and multiple types of lead testing be done on the building. For the longer term he suggested that the Leadership Advisory Committee (LAC) be tasked with conducting a cost/benefit analysis on the question of restoring one building or two smaller ones.
Frank Zwack agreed with Howard’s immediate and intermediate plans. “We need to make the building safe for all the District’s children regardless of what we decide on for the long term,” he said.
With the discussion opened to the public, there were quite a few who had a lot to say. Andrew Zlotnick of Petersburgh said the school’s regular cleaning staff should not be given the responsibility for the lead cleaning. They are not trained for that, and it is not fair to them. Zlotnick said the problem with the building goes beyond the lead on the inside of the building. He presented the Board with a plastic bag containing chips of paint from the front steps and the handicapped entrance and a few sizable chunks of bricks that had fallen off the school. He concluded that lead paint is being tracked into the school from the outside. “The building is falling apart,” he said. “Please consider the immediate closure of this building until it can be made safe for all the students.”
Other concerns and comments from the public, often interrupted by shouted demands that Board members resign or be arrested, included the following:
• Remediation should be done without students occupying the building.
• Cleaning or containing the lead does not address other problems such as mold, asbestos, poor air and water quality.
• Sampling on the exterior of the building is needed. The children should be removed immediately.
• A committee should be appointed to advise the Board.
• Why was no one informed about the problem until September?
• The Board should apply to Extreme Makeover to build a new school (an idea offered not entirely facetiously).
• Apply for stimulus money to build a new school.
• “Your only solution is baby wipes?”
• What to do in warm weather with the windows closed and no ventilation system?
• Washing stations are needed in the school to accommodate the recommended frequent washing of hands.
• Remediation should have started a long time ago.
• The SED can revoke a Certificate of Occupancy if a school fails the 5-year Building Survey – Call them!
Jim Crawford urged the Board to worry more about the immediate danger than longer term plans. He painted a grim picture saying he had worked with adults who as children had gotten lead poisoning. “They were living as if their brains had been scooped out,” he said. “Get as far away from lead as fast as you can.”
Howard said he would check with legal counsel about having the school provide blood testing and would also consult with the County Health Department. He said he was very favorably impressed with the BCS staff and with the community. He said he would need some time to do his homework. “I need to ask a lot of people a lot of questions,” he said. He did not see any good options as far as moving the students. He did not think that the 420 students could be safely or well housed in the two closed buildings, and split sessions at the High School he thought would be a nightmare. “We need to come together and work together,” he said. “We can argue and disagree, but we should do so with respect for one another. If we work together we can find solutions. We will do the best we can.”
Other photos provided by Peter Danziger
