By now, we all know this heavy snow is dangerous stuff.
Like most parents, I figured that last Thursday's "snow day" was really a roof cleaning and inspection day. I was comforted by the Superintendent's statement that all the schools had been inspected and were ready to go.
On Friday morning, when I dropped my kid off at Macdonough, I was curious to see a meeting in process with Ken Jackson, the school district's director of facilities. Naively, I assumed that officials were making the rounds to be sure everything was safe before school began for the day.
Not so much.
It turns out that Macdonough's custodial staff had found drywall cracking early in the morning, and central office had been called to evaluate the safety of opening the building. Macdonough staff were assured that a building inspector would come when they could, but that it was fine to open the building for the day. They were told the building had "a strong foundation" and not to worry.
As the day went on and there were reports of drywall cracking at Moody and Bielefield, and how those schools were evacuated, I thought that surely the district would be reconsidering its policy of "wait and see" at Macdonough. After all, Macdonough is the oldest school building in town, and the school district website had issued a statement on Friday morning that they were monitoring the condition of all school building roofs and the safety of the kids was their top priority.
Well, I feel like an idiot.
Of course, by the end of the day, Macdonough had not had a visit from an inspector, and the staff and children had been in the building all day.
Since I'm not an engineer and did not do an inspection of all of the sites, I can't know how the symptom of "drywall cracking" differed from building to building, but it does seem like the evacuation policy differed. What level of expertise is required to decide that "drywall cracking" has created a potential for hazard, and what members of the school district staff have those credentials? If the school district felt that the situation at Macdonough was serious enough to warrant a visit from a building inspector, why wouldn't they take precautionary measures and evacuate as they did at the other schools?
The whole situation calls into question the process that the school district uses to evaluate building safety. I hope the Board of Ed will use their upcoming meeting to evaluate whether it is appropriate for the school district to continue to make these decisions without the input of the city's building and fire officials.
Unless this is really about turf, instead of our kids' safety.
Keep in mind, we are talking about the same BOE administration that allowed students and staff to remain in a building last fall that had a gas leak. Students and staff at the Keigwin Middle School were told by the principal to go to their classrooms as opposed to evacuating the building. This is not part of an "emergency plan" nor is the principal qualified to make such a decision. Luckily, no one was injured. Middletown BOE and Frechette need to stop "gambling" with the safety of our children. Shame on all of them!!!!!
ReplyDeleteDrywall cracks do not mean a building is an unsafe structure. You probably have them in your own house.
ReplyDeleteI got a Honeywell message this afternoon like I assume the rest of the town did regarding the safety of the schools for tomorrow. I was happy that things were being communicated to us. Then when I was running an errand, my daugther and I decided to drive by Woodrow Wilson MS to see how the building looked. It looks exactly like it did Friday when we drove by. Then we drove by Bielefield, one of the schools evacuated on Friday. It looks just like it did on Friday evening. Snow on the roofs. I have been watching my neighbors clear snow off their roofs alongside my husband and I. Where is the contractor that is supposed to be clearing roofs? I was under the impression that Turner Construction was contracted to work this weekend and that the National Guard was even asked to help out.
ReplyDeleteI also haven't heard anything about Woodrow Wilson's cafeteria? Why were the kids were not allowed to eat lunch there or walk in certain hallways?
ow do we get answers to these questions? Where do we go? Who do we ask? Communication in this town is horrible!
The district did not evacuate Moody School; the Building Principal made the decision. She wasn't willing to risk waiting for the district to stop by and "check it out". I'm not sure why the Macdonough principal didn't evacuate himself if there was a concern. A principal shouldn't wait for Central Office if he or she smelled gas or saw fire - so why wait if he or she thinks the structure isn't safe?
ReplyDeleteWe should ask to see the inspector's reports - they must be available for the public to view?
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe that central office was not involved in those evacuations ... who approves having all the buses that were needed?
ReplyDeleteThe engineer's report was requested by a board member and as of approximately 4:30 pm yesterday afternoon, Mr. Frechette stated in an email that "it is not ready yet." Since then, we've received no further communication regarding this report.
ReplyDeleteThe moody principal called mike milardo and dattco and said she needed buses b/c she was evacuating. central office did not call moody's evacuation.
ReplyDelete