I have to say that I'm a pretty low key parent (and also a teacher). This would be a huge issue for me though. My DC has "controlled" asthma. She regularly uses a nebulizer and leads a pretty "normal" life. However, there have been several ER visits when symptoms were out of control and it's very scary for all involved. If she spent 6+ hours a day five days a week in a building with mold issues, I would be terribly concerned.

I have a colleague with a child at the school. Many parents had kids with asthma symptoms, and also the flu like symptoms which can be associated with mold exposure. The parents just didn't "guess" the culprit was mold until the story broke, because of the delay in the alert from MCPS, for which they blame the principal. There certainly is a feeling that if this had occurred in Potomac (after Bells Mill ES), the system would have responded differently. Certainly parents were appalled that Starr has made political hay by blaming the County for not funding the budget...when really, this was a problem which could have been identified with proper inspections and maintenance.

Links to Bells Mill stories:

http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/042606/nortnew193848_31961.shtml

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801388.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/15/AR2006051501720.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesnt anyone remember that they built a whole new school ahead of schedule when Bells Mill Elem had a mold problem? MCPS took those parents' concerns seriously then. Why do you suppose they are not being forthright with the Rolling Terrace folks?

yes

zip code

Some words of advice - making over generalizations about schools based on what - its zip code - does not advance your cause. Perhaps you should contact the Bells Mills PTA and ask for advice and help on this issue instead of bad mouthing that they got preferential treatment. I'm sure they can tell you the specifics of their situation and the contacts they made to get the issue resolved.

BTW - there is a schedule for schools to be remodeled and rebuilt. Bells Mills was on that scheduled to be rebuilt before the mold was discovered and health problems documented. The timeline of the rebuilt was bumped ahead of another Potomac cluster school in order to address both the mold issue and the aging facilities at the same time. The mold issue had to due specifically with aging portables at the school, not the physical building itself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:when a school has black mold it is closed for cleaning

children do not return until the school is thoroughly cleaned
they are not left in the school to get sick
only idiots do that to children

do a yahoo search and see for yourself

I did a search (Google), and according to the EPA, it's not necessary true that 'when a school has black mold it is closed for cleaning'. Here's what the EPA says:

"In some cases, especially those involving large areas of contamination, the remediation plan may include temporary relocation of some or all of the building occupants.

The decision to relocate occupants should consider the size and type of the area affected by mold growth, the type and extent of health effects reported by the occupants, the potential health risks that could be associated with debris, and the amount of disruption likely to be caused by remediation activities. If possible, remediation activities should be scheduled during off-hours when building occupants are less likely to be affected."

http://www.epa.gov/iedmold1/mold_remediation.html#Key_Steps

EPA? Who cares? How much do you get paid to put off parents?

Now look at schools that have had mold and see that they have actually been closed by boards of education who care about children.

PP, if your goal is to persuade other people that MCPS is egregiously mishandling this case, I don't think you're using the right strategies.

However, you are using the right strategies if your goal is to persuade people that the parents who are pushing this issue are overwrought conspiracy-minded wackos.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:when a school has black mold it is closed for cleaning

children do not return until the school is thoroughly cleaned
they are not left in the school to get sick
only idiots do that to children

do a yahoo search and see for yourself

I did a search (Google), and according to the EPA, it's not necessary true that 'when a school has black mold it is closed for cleaning'. Here's what the EPA says:

"In some cases, especially those involving large areas of contamination, the remediation plan may include temporary relocation of some or all of the building occupants.

The decision to relocate occupants should consider the size and type of the area affected by mold growth, the type and extent of health effects reported by the occupants, the potential health risks that could be associated with debris, and the amount of disruption likely to be caused by remediation activities. If possible, remediation activities should be scheduled during off-hours when building occupants are less likely to be affected."

http://www.epa.gov/iedmold1/mold_remediation.html#Key_Steps

EPA? Who cares? How much do you get paid to put off parents?

Now look at schools that have had mold and see that they have actually been closed by boards of education who care about children.

Anonymous wrote:Doesnt anyone remember that they built a whole new school ahead of schedule when Bells Mill Elem had a mold problem? MCPS took those parents' concerns seriously then. Why do you suppose they are not being forthright with the Rolling Terrace folks?

yes

zip code