Blackstone students don’t have to get used to new classrooms
Augustine F. Maloney School kids temporarily being housed while workers continue mold cleanup
BLACKSTONE — Students at the Augustine F. Maloney School will be starting off the new school year housed at the John F. Kennedy School and the Millville Elementary School while restoration workers clean up mold discovered at the Maloney school last week.
According to a letter to parents sent by Superintendent Jason DeFalco, mold was detected last week at the 200 Lincoln St. school, which houses regional school students in grades 3-5. DeFalco says the mold was discovered by custodial crews preparing the facility for the new school year.
The school building has been closed to students and staff until the cleaning process – which began last Friday – is completed. The cleanup could take anywhere from 7 to 11 days.
“The district is working diligently to remediate the situation and open AFM as soon as possible,” De Falco said in his letter. “We will communicate any updates as soon as they are available.”
Rather than delay the start of school on Wednesday, the administration decided to relocate Maloney students in Grade 3 to the John F. Kennedy School in Blackstone and students in grades 4-5 to the Millville Elementary School in Millville while the cleaning is being conducted.
According to DeFalco, transportation for those students will run as regularly scheduled. On Wednesday, all students will be dropped off at the elementary school complex, where Grade 3 students will report to JFK and grades 4-5 students will be shuttled to Millville and then shuttled back to AFM at the end of the day for their normal dismissal.
The Blackstone-Millville Regional School District was established 51 years ago in 1967 and includes one elementary school in Millville (Millville Elementary School, pre-school-Grade 5); two elementary schools in Blackstone (John F. Kennedy, kindergarten-Grade 3 and Augustine F. Maloney, grades 4-5); and a middle school and high school in Blackstone (Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School and Blackstone-Millville Regional High School).
The district serves 1,882 students, has a 135-member teaching staff and is overseen by an elected eight-member School Committee, with four members from each town.
According to the EPA, moisture problems in school buildings can be caused by a variety of conditions, including roof and plumbing leaks, condensation and excess humidity. Some moisture problems in schools have been linked to changes in building construction practices during the past 20 to 30 years. These changes have resulted in more tightly sealed buildings that may not allow moisture to escape easily.
Moisture problems in schools are also associated with delayed maintenance or insufficient maintenance, due to budget and other constraints. Temporary structures in schools, such as trailers and portable classrooms, have frequently been associated with moisture and mold problems.
Research studies have shown that exposures to building dampness and mold have been associated with respiratory symptoms, asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, rhinosinusitis, bronchitis, and respiratory infections. Individuals with asthma or hypersensitivity pneumonitis may be at risk for progression to more severe disease if the relationship between illness and exposure to the damp building is not recognized and exposures continue.
Some parents, including Carolyn Blanchette, who’s 10-year-old daughter, Cherylyn, has been taken out of school and hospitalized for respiratory issues several times since the the second grade, have long suspected there was a mold issue at the school.
“I’ve been saying this for three years,” Blanchette told a reporter Saturday. “I’m glad it’s going to be corrected.”
Another parent, who requested anonymity, said there has been rumors that the school department knew about the mold issue prior to last week. Teachers in the district, she said, were also reprimanded by email last year by former School Superintendent Allen Himmelberger for taking too many sick days.
“We are concerned because our daughter had a lot of breathing issues last year and allergy testing listed mold among her triggers,” she said. “I know of another parent whose child had similar issues and who said she called the school and Board of Health. Another said her child’s doctor had been asking for two years whether there could be mold in the school.”