New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘Filthy’ air filters spur call for better maintenance in schools
NEW HAVEN — During an unannounced check-in at Celentano School in February, city building inspector Jim Turcio said his team found four “filthy” air filters in the gymnasium and hallways.
“They missed some of them,” he said. “They missed some filters that had to be changed and they haven’t gotten around to them because they have to bring lifts to the gym and they’re just getting around to that now.”
But that is not the only school where outdated air filters that hadn’t been changed in years were found, according to the report of a task force comprised of multiple governmental and community agencies that toured school buildings in late 2020 to inspect readiness for a safe return to schools.
Now, while the district works to address issues raised in the recently released report — as well as long-term needs — a local clergy association is calling for better management of building maintenance, parents are raising concerns about air quality and Board of Education members are criticizing cuts to the facilities and management budget.
Building issues
The task force report found issues that needed to be addressed at 30 of the city’s schools, including air filtration or ventilation issues at 17. Other issues contained in the recently released report were fire hazards in mechanical rooms because of storage issues, outdated alarm systems, leaks, broken tiles and water damage.
At Betsy Ross School, for example, both the engineering firm and task force found air filters that hadn’t been replaced since 2016, the report says. The task force also found signs of “water filtration” throughout the building.
At Ross Woodward School, the engineering firm found that exhaust fans in the building did not seem to be moving air and the task force found that the furnace system may have been damaged by basement flooding. In three schools, the task force found signs of mold in bathrooms or ceiling tiles, the report says.
At East Rock Community Magnet School, the task force report found the air filters last were replaced in 2017 and there had been a general lack of maintenance on the ventilation system, including duct and air filters, the report says.
The task force also found ceiling tiles in the cafeteria of Worthington Hooker School that were so damaged by water that they required replacement.
In an example at High School in the Community, the Fuss &
O’Neill report found “Based on our field observations on October 27, 2020 and remote building automation system (BAS) review on November 5, 2020, it is our opinion that the building’s ventilation systems have significant deficiencies and will need to be corrected and re-evaluated before considering reoccupying the building.”
Moving forward
Turcio said there had been
significant progress since inspections of buildings began last year, but according to the task force findings and an independent engineering firm report by Fuss & O’ Neill, neglect of certain routine maintenance tasks led to the gradual decline of school air quality systems.
“They’re in better shape than they were this time last year,” Turcio said.
Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey said that since those issues had been brought to the attention of district leaders, they have been addressed. She said the work of maintaining and upgrading buildings is continuous work.
“It’s more than filters. We have to look at the life of our buildings,” she said.
Tracey said that, since the issues were highlighted by the reports, the district has been proactive in establishing protocols to monitor the upkeep of its buildings.
“It’s a continuous upgrade,” she said.
Maintenance questions
The district is waiting for authorization to pursue grant funding for a study on the long-term feasibility of its more than 40 buildings. In late 2020, the task force determined two schools — Quinnipiac Real World Math
STEM School and West Rock STREAM Academy — no longer were safe for use. As buildings continue to age, district officials said they must decide how much they can afford to invest in their upkeep.
Maritza Bond, the city’s health director, said the response of the city and district by addressing the issues highlighted in the reports is evidence that the city takes air quality safety seriously.
“We hold ourselves to a higher standard,” she said.
But the Greater New Haven Clergy Association has called for more oversight on air quality in the city’s schools and establishment of an indoor air quality committee for each school.
“Safety Issues were only identified after some members of the Board of Education insisted that inspections be completed,” the association said in a statement.
The association said, also in a statement, that “state law calls for regular inspections of buildings and the development of safety plans” and asked “Who, if anyone, will be held accountable?”
Parent Nijija-Ife Waters said she has health questions about East Rock school, which her son attends.He has chronic asthma, but has been on remote learning this past year, she said.
“Since Amadi has not been in school, he has not been on an asthma sick plan for a whole year,” said Waters, president of the newly-independent district parent advocacy group Citywide Parent Team.
But on four separate occasions last year, Waters said, Amadi was too sick to attend school, falling behind on instructional time.
Dave Cicarella, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, was critical of district administration for its failure to provide a checklist of tasks conducted in buildings to ensure safety prior to the planned reopening of schools in August. Since then, he said, he has seen the “outstanding” work school custodians have done and he believes the district has remedied many of the biggest concerns.
“I think we’re in really good shape,” he said. “If it’s a matter of a couple things slipping through the cracks, it’s got to be addressed. If it’s a bigger problem, which we don’t know at this point, we have to figure out what happened and why and fix it.”
But Cicarella also said teachers’ concerns about air quality or climate should always be taken seriously by the administration.
“They are there on the front lines with the kids,” he said.
Some Board of Education members also have grilled staff following the release of the reports, asking why it took a pandemic for maintenance staff to realize air filters were not being changed on schedule.
District facilities Director Joe Barbarotta said the issues are largely a result of staffing and other budget cuts. The engineer who would ordinarily oversee air filter replacement was cut from the budget, with the responsibilities being added on to schoolbased staff, he said. In the past, filters ordinarily would be ordered ahead of time and stored in a warehouse, he said, but that building was closed, meaning filters must be ordered and sent directly to schools.
“There’s a perception we haven’t changed filters in four to five years, which is just not true,” he said. “We do the filter changes on a staggered schedule depending on the date.”
Barbarotta said some specific issues may have slipped the notice of overworked custodial staff, but a lack of record keeping means it is impossible to know who was responsible for installing each of the 6,244 filters in the schools in the past, although his department has begun seeking signatures from custodial workers after they complete the job.
Ten years ago, an independent engineering firm estimated the school district would need $41 million annually to properly upkeep its various HVAC systems, he said. Since then, facilities and maintenance costs in the district have been slashed further.
Board member Larry Conaway, a retired district principal, said he witnessed firsthand the reduction in custodial staff during his tenure. He said he has worries the district could ever provide $41 million in the facilities and management budget.
“That’s a big number to me,” he said.
Board member Ed Joyner said he was impressed with district leaders’ efforts, saying that most public buildings would not undergo the level of scrutiny and continued maintenance done at the schools.
But board member Darnell Goldson said, “We never have enough money, but we should have enough money to ensure kids are safe.”
“Hire more workers if you want to get the work done,” he said. “Having three levels of supervision over a custodian is just not the way to do it.”