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Why has there been so much construction and what is this I hear about moisture and mold?

March 6, 2008

Here is a copy of the letter which was sent home and published on the front page
of the Magna Times:

Parents ,

Over the past year, you’ve been aware of construction at the
school. You’ve trusted your children with us as we’ve investigated
the water drainage issues and mold that followed. You’ve watched the
construction and checked the updates. Now, with more answers, we’d
like to give another update, including the work that has taken place
and the history behind it.

The History At Douglas T. Orchard Elementary School, we had developed a problem
with water accumulating under the building. With moisture, mold may follow. Because
Orchard was built over a soil crawl space, there has been a musty smell in the building for
years, yet inspections had not revealed mold.
Discovery In the spring of 2007, a worker from the Utah’s employment services
representing OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health) came to visit the school, inquiring
about possible health issues from mold for employees. The school and district cooperated
fully, even running air samples, tape samples and visual tests to look for evidence of
problems. OSHA did not run any tests, but waited for the district tests to be returned, and
completed a visual inspection. The school found 2 small patches of mold, about 1/4 inches
in diameter, tested and removed them.
Once the results were in, they were given to OSHA. Those results indicated that 3 of the
7 inside samples, had mold counts that were higher than outside, while 4 were lower.
As there are no guidelines for an “acceptable amount” of mold, the district and OSHA
used the criteria that we wanted the air cleaner in the building than outside. Using this high
standard, the district concluded that there was some mold in the building, and action should
take place, not just for the employees, but for the children.
Planning Immediately upon hearing the results, and before OSHA reported their
findings that employees may be impacted by mold in the building, the district began
designing an environment where the building would be dry and mold could not grow.
We looked for the best way to handle the situation. Should we look for another place to
hold school? Were students or employees at risk? Could work be done before school
started?
Based on experts within this field, it was determined that the air was safe for most,
except those with extreme sensitivities to mold. Moving students into the available school,
without air-conditioning in July, would create risks for children. Possible double sessions in
an air-conditioned school was considered, yet childcare problems would be created for
parents in two schools because of the morning and afternoon sessions.
Causes In order to see if the work could be done in time for school to start, we had to
find the causes. Quickly we found:
1 - A sprinkler pipe had broken under the building, and ran only when that line was on.
2 - An old electrical conduit provided a path for water to flow into the building.
3 - The soil level on the building’s south side was allowing water to seep through the bricks.
4 - The water from the carpet cleaning could possibly be leaking through the wood sub-floor
to the insulation below.
5 - The circulation under the building was not allowing the area to dry out when water came
in.
Action - Stage 1 In May /June 2007, the broken pipe and conduit were repaired.
Sprinklers were turned off, so water would not seep into the building.
In July 2007, while students were on vacation, carpet in all halls (the most saturated
area) and some classrooms was removed. Inspections were made. No mold was found.
Repairs were made to wood which deteriorated because of construction methods no longer
used. New carpet with a rubber backing was laid as a preventative against future leaks.
The same month, the insulation was removed from under the building crawl spaces. A
small amount of insulation contained mold. Water had damage some of the support beams.
They were shored up and repaired over the next months. The crawl space was inspected,
and dried out. Upgraded filters were installed in the air handlers.
Additionally, excavation was done along the footings on the south side of the building.
Over the next months, a new drainage system was put in, and a drainage barrier was
installed protecting the building and brick.
Yes, the building would have the majority of work done before school started and could
be completed without disrupting students. Parents were notified of the work going on and
the reasons behind it.
Action - Stage 2 In the fall and winter of 2007, a fan system was installed which is
“controlled through the Building Management System (BMS) to monitor humidity and
temperature values. These are remotely monitored at the administrative services building.
The system provides air movement and maintains a negatively pressurized condition in the
crawl space area...” greatly reducing moisture and mold. Vent covers have now been
installed and the system is completed.
Additionally, new insulation has been installed. Parents were again notified in the school
newsletter and web-page, (www.graniteschools.org/el/orchard) about the work taking place
and our progress.
And - Stage 3 After all of this work, you would think that the drainage issues would be
alleviated. Another inspection. This time we saw drainage issues on the north side of the
building and problems with down-spouts from the roof.
Using this new information, the same excavation, drainage and moisture barrier system
that was used on the south side of the building is being installed on the north. Still to come,
“swipper” down-spout drains will be installed to get water from the roof to the drainage
system.
Additionally, the condensation on windows creates moisture could be leaking behind the
walls. So, we will “encapsulate” the areas, depriving possible mold spores from their food
and light supply, sealing them from the air.
Again, we want parents to know of our progress.
Impact With mold impacting up to 10% of the population, we’d expect over 75 people
to be having difficulty. We are grateful that has not been the case. One child has been
sensitive enough to require a transfer. Several parents chose to transfer their children (five
total) to another school for prevention reasons. Two teachers have struggled with allergies.
While one teacher has chosen to seek another school, the other will stay. The latest four air
samples in the school showed the same or significantly less than mold than outside.
Question and Answer Meeting You may still have questions. In order to make
you feel comfortable and to answer any last questions you may have, we are arranging a
parent meeting where you may put your questions to the principal, district officials, and
experts in the field. In conjunction with the PTA, we will be setting an evening meeting time in
the next few weeks.
Watch for flyers and marquee announcements of this meeting during March.
We look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Rebecca K. Tesch, Principal

"Why are we a Year Round School? Could we go back to traditional schedule like some other schools have done?"
Year Round School is used in Granite School District to increase the capacity of the building and allow more students to attend a school than the school could usuallly handle. Orchard's capacity is about 720. Over the past 5 years we have ranged in capacity from 700 to 750. At the lower end, our school could handle the student load, while at the 750 end, we were above capacity and had to increase class size or rotate classrooms in order to accomodate the students.

In order to return to a traditional schedule, we would have to be about 90-95% capacity. That is because there are many students in the boundaries who are going to other schools. Schools that have returned to the traditional schedule experience a large increase in population as many of the students on Special Permit return to the home school. In our case, this could be as many as 80 students.

Our area is growing. The county birthrate indicates that our Kindergarten total enrollment will be higher than the exiting 6th grade total enrollment for the next 5 years. That increases our population each year. Also, several subdivisions are being build in the area, which brings in an increase in population. Additionally, we have had 2 boudary changes in the past few years. These changes often take 5-6 years to impact the school as many parents keep their children in the original school rather than moving them to the new school. As new families register their Kindergarten students or move in to the area, they tend to come to the schools in whose boundaries they live.

Another interesting fact: as we fill the building to capacity with students, the number of students having behavior problems increases well beyond what we would expect almost double. It appears the crowding of students which happens when all the students are here at the same time affects their frustration level, resulting in more poor choices. There is a peace and calm that accompanies less students in the building at a time.

Another interesting piece of information: The majority of our faculty prefers Year Round and have let us know that if the school were to return to a traditional schedule, they would be transfering schools.

All in all, we are in a difficult position, too many students available to change to a traditional schedule, yet not enough students to feel we really have to be on a Year Round schedule. We will keep evaluating the need for a Year Round schedule each year. It has been on the Community Council agenda yearly for the past 4 years.

Questions regarding the choice to return to A, B, C & D tracks for the 2007-08 school year:

"Why were parents not notified that there was discussion concerning the return of the other tracks? What information did the school or district utilize to determine why they should bring back the additional tracks?"
When the Granite District Board of Education placed Orchard on the year-round schedule, the school was expected to run on 4 tracks unless the Board made an exception for the coming year. The Board will make an exception based on 2 items: 1) the students must be able to be housed in classrooms within the building, and 2) a request is made through the school's Community Council for an exception to the 4 tracks. The exception is for one year.

Twice it has appeared that Orchard Elementary met the criteria of being able to house all the students in classrooms within the building and an exemption was granted. This request was made because the majority of parents requesting a track (under 50%) requested A or D tracks. During the course of the years of exception, the population increased to require an additional classroom which the school didn't have. Therefore, we no longer met the criteria for an exception the following year.

"What data is used to decide what students including the Advanced Learners should be in what track?"
For the most part, parents request the track that they would like for their child. The computer assigns students a class placement based on the parent request, siblings needing the same track, and slots available in the class. In some cases, the school may intervene and hand place students to create more balanced classes, separate students who do not do well together and meet extreme needs.

An Advanced Learner class is provided on each grade level to make sure that students with extreme needs for advancement may be met. Generally, 2 to 5 students in a grade have such extreme needs. Many other students may benefit from the Advanced Learner class, yet would also benefit from a regular class. In fact, most students who benefit from the challenges of an Advanced Learner class also benefit from the experiences available in a regular class, so both opportunities should be sought.

"Why is the Advanced Learner class on C track rather than a more popular track?"
The most popular track is the track that receives the most request. Depending on the school, all 4 tracks have met that criteria. At Orchard, A, C & D have all received large amounts of requests, with B track close behind, depending on the year and teacher assignments.

In the past 6 years that Orchard has been on the year-round schedule, the Advanced Learner classes have been on A track 4 times, and C track twice. The decision to place the Advanced Learner class on C track was made because the C track schedule begins with a short 3 week period before the first break. Students on grade level and above work very well with this "jump start" and break, while students who struggle don't do as well in such a schedule.

The Advance Learner classes are not "elitist," nor a reward for hard work. They are formed to meet extreme need for advancement, while benefitting other students. All students who are on grade level or above are eligible for placement in the Advanced Learner class.