Delay on sewer line repair bothers school trustees

District trustees are upset that a sewer line has yet to be repaired at Mount Marion Elementary School, more than two years after bathrooms in nine classrooms were closed to prevent further problems.

At a Board of Education meeting Tuesday, board members said an opportunity to secure emergency funds from the state had been missed because corrective action was not taken.

“There’s a dip in the sewer pipe heading into the septic system at Mount Marion in one of the hallways,” Trustee Robert Thomann said.

Officials said the delay apparently involves finding time to remove asbestos tiles that are above the sewer line, but that work would have to be scheduled when students are not in the building.

“This whole item was put out for emergency request back in ... 2015 and it wasn’t followed through,” Trustee Paul VanSchaack said. “So right now were back to the ... drawing board to find out exactly what happened.”

Information was not immediately available on the cost to repair the line or the amount that would have been covered by the state.

Mount Marion Elementary School Principal Carole Kelder said the bathrooms were closed to avoid clogging the line.

“In some of the classrooms, the little ones they use a little too much toilet paper,” she said. “So we decide we would not have them use the bathrooms. We would have them go down the hallway and use the gang bathrooms.”

Trustee Raymond Maclary said administrators should have put the repair on a higher priority.

“I know in my house, if a bathroom didn’t work, we wouldn’t just stop using it,” he said.

Trustee Elena Maskell was also troubled that the problem, which has left odors in the building, had not been resolved.

“I don’t understand how it’s possible to allow a sewer issue to get dropped,” she said. “The health and welfare of our students and staff have been at risk for two years. That does not sit right with me and I can’t get past that.”

Superintendent Seth Turner said the repairs were delayed because there was asbestos abatement involved and work needed to be done while students were not in the building.

“I want everybody to be assured that the health, safety and welfare of the children, the staff, the students, and the people who are in our facilities is put number one,” he said. “At no point would I or any person with whom I work ever put somebody ... at risk.”

Turner added that the significance of the problem did not previously seem to rise to the concerns being raised at the board meeting, but said it had been discussed earlier this year by a district committee.

“If I recall correctly, the December 2015 minutes indicated there were no sanitary issues, no plumbing issues,” he said. “So I apologize. This did go off the radar until it got brought back up in June (2017), but was it intended to be in the capital improvement project. That answer is yes.”