October 12, 2009- District Response of Meeting Overview

From: Ed See, Project Manager, Occupational Health and Environmental Control; Risk Management Department School Board of Broward County

I agree that we covered alot of information during the meeting.  For the most part your overview is accurate, let me provide some clarification.  The maintenance department is diagnosing, tracking and making repairs to the HVAC system to keep the relative humidity below 60% and the temperature between 72F and 78F.  Again, I will provide a spreadsheet to you by mid-week detailing action items, responsible persons and timeframes.

1. Remove the ice machine from the band room which is a heat and moisture source.

2. Install an A/C supply vent in the hallway outside the band room.

3. Clean the auditorium supply vents in the sitting area and catwalk space, the carpet & upholstered chairs, and remove/replace the stained ceiling tiles.  District custodial staff will evaluate the auditorium on Monday and schedule cleanup this week.

4. Maintenance will continually monitor the temperature and relative humidity in the auditorium using dataloggers.  Also, Energy Management can remotely monitor the environmental parameters and notify the department 24 hours/7 days should an emergency arise.

5. School staff will continue to enforce the closed-door policy to prevent the intrusion of untreated, humid air into the auditorium.

6. Weekend or after-hours A/C operation requests have been submitted by school administration to Energy Management through mid-November.

7. The re-roofing project for buildings 1 & 2 obtained Board approval last week and should commence at the end of October.

8. Maintenance will assess the A/C behind the stage area to try to accommodate the thermal comfort levels for personnel on the stage.  Apparently, the stage lighting is a significant heat source.  

The existing HVAC system, although an older unit, can and will be repaired to operate within District environmental parameters.  I will keep you apprised of any new developments.  With that said, I want to ensure that we are managing expectations regarding the HVAC.  The acquisition of a new HVAC is not feasible and not within our scope of work.  Again, my staff will perform the necessary maintenance and repairs to ensure the HVAC is operating efficiently and effectively within District parameters.  

Thank you for your support and I look forward to working with you at SPHS.  

Parents Meet with District Officials To Talk About Mold & Mildew

October 8, 2008- On Thursday, October 8th, representatives from South Plantation High School and district personnel from the facilities department and risk management met with about a dozen concerned parents to discuss the A/C, mold and mildew issues in the auditorium and throughout the campus at South.

Taking charge of the meeting was Mr. Edward See, Project Manager from the Occupational Health and Environmental Control department of the School Board of Broward County. There was alot of information covered but here is a summation of the information as I understand it:

1. District representatives have been working with SPHS personnel to determine the extent of the problem. This is an ongoing process.

2. District representatives agree that there is a problem with the moisture levels in the auditorium but point out that there are several factors that are contributing to the problem.

3. The first factor is that the school is home to a 30 year old, antiquated and malfunctioning air conditioning unit. This A/C system is actually pumping in untreated moist air. This is the main source of the moisture build up that we see. Once the A/C is turned off for the weekend, the rise in temperature heats the moisture in the air creating the condensation that is the perfect environment for mold to grow.

4. The second contributing factor is the water infiltration from the leaky roofs. Though according to the district, this has less of an impact than we had thought, the leaky roof is still a contributing factor to the moisture build up. On Tuesday, October 6, the School Board of Broward County approved a contract with Advanced Roofing, Inc. to re-roof the auditorium. This work is scheduled to begin next month. We do not have a time frame for completion so we will continue to monitor the progress. If we find it slow going, Mr. See has offered to take our calls and look into the situation.

5. District personnel from the Indoor Air Quality team will be coming in this weekend to clean all the air vents, shafts, and other places where mold can be seen. Mr. See said that they will also conduct testing in areas where mold may readily be growing but may not be seen including the foam in the auditorium seats and other areas throughout the school (media center and culinary departments in particular).

6. Though all at the meeting agreed that a long term solution is the goal, there are short term steps that will be taken while that long term solution is sought. These include

• patching the roof where leaks can be found,
• adjusting and tweaking the A/C settings and air dampers to operate at optimum levels despite the age and condition of the units.
• insuring the A/C stays on when building is occupied and maintaining the temperature at an EPA suggested temperature of 78 degrees when unoccupied to prevent condensation and protect equipment,
• and implement automated notification procedures so district personnel are notified if and when the HVAC system fails.

7. The reality of a long term solution appears to be uphill battle for the sole fact that it requires money. And money is the one thing the School Board of Broward County claims it hasn't got. The irony is that more money will be spent, over time, running a broken down A/C unit, replacing damaged equipment and instituting temporary fixes.

We must continue to be vigilant to push to have these solutions implemented. School district officials from the Indoor Air Quality team agree with us as to the extent of the problem. We must now lobby our school board representative, Mrs. Maureen Dinnen, to advocate for us at the meeting and push to have money directed to our school to fix it.

Special Meeting Scheduled for This Thursday, October 8th To Address A/C, Mold and Mildew Issue

Due to our grass roots effort there has been a meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 8th at 1pm at the SPHS auditorium to discuss issues related to the auditorium air conditioning situation and the mold and mildew that is growing on the air ducts and grid iron. This meeting is open to all parents and concerned citizens.

Jeff Moquin, the director of Risk Management and a member of the Indoor Air Quality team will not be in attendance as originally reported. Instead, Ed See will be representing the district at the meeting. Other district representatives will also be on site. Mr. Moquin and Wayne Thrasher (a project manager from the Facilities and Construction Management department) were at South discussing concerns and looking at the facilities. Mr. Moquin has invited concerned parents to attend the meeting and assures both school personnel and parents of students in the theatre program that concerns will be addressed and issues resolved.

We encourage everyone to attend this meeting and voice your concerns, ask your questions and push for change. The goal is to:

• Get administration to push facilities to act on the four year old work order to have the roof replaced.
• Discontinue the "penny-wise/pound-foolish" policy of shutting down the air conditioning over the weekend which creates a health hazard and damages expensive equipment the district cannot afford to replace.
• Have the district pay for the repair or replacement of the $8,000.00 cyclorama the FOTT bought that was damaged by the roof leaks.

October 6, 2009 Update- Special Meeting Called And Apologies to Mr. Rob Jindracek

Due to our efforts there has been a meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 8th at 1pm at the SPHS auditorium in order to discuss issues related to the auditorium air conditioning situation and the mold and mildew that is growing on the air ducts and grid iron.

Jeff Moquin, the director of Risk Management and a member of the Indoor Air Quality team will be in attendance along with other administrative personnel. Mr. Moquin and Wayne Thrasher (a project manager from the Facilities and Construction Management department) were at South today discussing concerns and looking at the facilities. Mr. Moquin has invited concerned parents to attend the meeting and assures both school personnel and parents of students in the theatre program that concerns will be addressed and issues resolved.

Regarding the lack of air conditioning on Saturday, October 3rd for rehearsal, some additional information has come to light. During the previous week, it was communicated that the AC would be turned on 24/7 while the district re-evaluated the situation in the auditorium. This was the promise that was not kept. However, there is more to the story. Proper procedure to arrange weekend AC is that a request be submitted by 1pm the Friday before AC is needed. The request for A/C was submitted by Mr. Zembuch on Friday morning to Mr. Reed, the AP over facilities. Mr. Zembuch then had a verbal confirmation with Mr. Reed at which time Mr. Zembuch was told it was being handled. With this understanding, I sent Robert Jindracek, the manager of Energy Conservation and Utility Management, a strongly worded email requesting that he discontinue this policy of shutting down the A/C...essentially blaming him for the condition of the auditorium work environment on the 3rd. It has since come to light that Mr. Reed never submitted the request and that, in fact, Mr. Jindracek had gone so far as to send an email reminder to SPHS administration requesting that they submit the request for the upcoming weekend. It was ignored. Turns out he is one of the good guys and was looking out for our interests. I have since apologized to Mr. Jindracek for the tone of my letter.

I am told by Mr. Zembuch that the lack of air conditioning on September 19 was solely due to an equipment issue. All protocol was followed by all parties requesting the AC to be turned on and it was programmed to do so.

I encourage everyone to attend the meeting on Thursday and voice your concerns, ask your questions and push for change. The goal is to:

• Get administration to push facilities to act on the four year old work order to have the roof replaced.
• Discontinue the "penny-wise/pound-foolish" policy of shutting down the air conditioning over the weekend which creates a health hazard and damages expensive equipment the district cannot afford to replace.
• Have the district pay for the repiar or replacement of the $8,000.00 cyclorama the FOTT bought that was damaged by the roof leaks.

Thank you all for your continued support and activism on this issue.

October 5, 2009 Update

October 5, 2009- It would appear that our voices are being heard. Whether they are loud enough can only be determined by whether or not the school board acts on our concerns.   As we parents continue to exercise our right to speak out on the A/C issue, we must also insure that, to the best of our abilities, the information we are getting is accurate.  To this end, we are sharing with you some updated information that came to our attention today.

1.  The principal of South Plantation High School, Dr. Basile, has stated repeatedly that he and his staff have done everything possible to address the issues relating to the air conditioning and that he does not have any authority in changing the current policy that has been implemented by the school board and the offices working in the area of energy management- ie: Mr. Rob Jindracek..  To this end, I advise we stop writing Dr. Basile as it will do no good.

2 . To be clear, our efforts are a grass roots campaign by concerned citizens and parents of students who attend South Plantation High School who are tired and frustrated with “all talk and no action” bureaucratic red tape on this issue.   

3 .  Apparently, the stance being taken by Mr. Jindracek, the aforementioned “Energy Conservation and Utility Management” Manager is that mold and mildew that has built up IS NOT a result of the a/c being turned off.  According to his office, it is an issue of water infiltration as a result of the roof leaks.   Clearly, we are not dealing with rocket scientists here as any physics teacher will attest to the effects when one combines water (leaks) and heat (turn off the A/C).    This absurd position being maintained by the offices of Mr. Jindracek (and, by association, Mr. Jindracek himself) needs to be targeted in future correspondences.

4 .  The mold and mildew you see in the pictures on the website was brought to the attention of administration as well as Mr. Jindracek's office almost two weeks ago.  When we first learned about this problem, we were left with the impression that it was going to be taken care of.  We thought the matter resolved when we were told that the A/C matter had been resolved.  When a parent told us that the A/C was off again on Saturday, October 3rd, we asked that parent to take the pictures you have seen so that we can begin taking matters into our own parental hands. 

5.  It is important to remember that this policy effects the entire school, not just the auditorium.   It is absolutely reasonable to assume that the mold and mildew you see in the auditorium is representative of what is growing throughout the school    Please insure when writing to our representatives that this is not just about our theater program students but the student body at South Plantation High School in general.

Please continue to put pressure on our school board representative Maureen Dinnen, Superintendent of Schools James Notter and Central Area Superintendent Dr. Leontine Butler.  Their email addresses are posted to the right of this page.   

Thank you for your continued support of the theater program at South Plantation High School and let’s continue to work to make sure our kids have a healthy and safe environment for their education.

This Is How The School Board's "Penny-Wise/Pound Foolish" Policies Effect Our Children

Links To Information on The Dangers of Black Mold

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/toxic-black-mold-symptoms-poisoning.html
http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldresources.html

These are pictures of the moisture and the mold that is in the auditorium at South Plantation High School. They were taken taken this past Saturday, October 3, during rehearsal of Alice In Wonderland. Just imagine the air quality in this auditorium with no air conditioning and this mold growing on all the vents and infrastructure! Take special note of the vents and the density of the water on the door glass and walls. It reminds one of a sauna! This is absolutely unacceptable for our children.

How can the School Board of Broward County say they care about the children when they continue this ridiculous policy of turning off the air conditioning in an auditorium that is used, not just by drama students, but by the ENTIRE STUDENT BODY for assemblies, conferences and other classroom activities?

Has your child been coming home with headaches? Nausea? Respiratory difficulties? You may not have to look much farther than Superintendent Jim Notter and the members of the School Board of Broward County to determine the cause.

Write them and express your disgust and anger over their lack of concern for the health and well being of the student body at South Plantation High School. And make sure they understand that you expect them to fix this problem without effecting the the hard work our drama students have been putting into the current production of Alice In Wonderland. They should not be penalized because some bureaucrats with no connection to what is really going on in our schools implemented a "penny-wise/pound-foolish" policy.

UPDATE: "Penny-Wise/Pound-Foolish" School School Board Policy Continues Despite Promise To End.

Oct. 4, 2009- Despite a promise to end the school district's unhealthy and destructive policy of turning off the air conditioning in the auditorium on the weekends our students once again rehearsed in an overheated, smelly and unsafe environment this past Saturday. All concerned parents, community leaders and citizens are encouraged to write these school board bureaucrats and demand the following:

1. The air conditioning be left on over the weekends for the safety of the students and to prevent damage to the thousands and thousands of dollars invested (including a brand new $20,000 Yamaha audio console) in theater equipment.

2. The mold that has grown throughout the theater including the critical grid iron of the theater, upholstery of the seats and the carpeting be professional removed for the safety of the students and guests of the Paladin Playhouse.

3. That the work order to replace the roof of the Paladin Playhouse be fulfilled immediately. Since Hurricane Wilma damaged the roof, the facilities department have patched the leaks over and over again but have never been successful at FIXING the leaks. There has been a work order for a new roof since Wilma damaged the original roof three years ago but it has yet to be executed. It’s the water from these leaks combined with the shutting off of the A/C that created the mold problem. We feel three years is long enough to wait for the facilities department to fulfill this work order and demand they install the new roof AND

4. They pay for the repair of the cyclorama that was damaged or reimburse the FOTT with which we can purchase a new one for the theater.

5. That these action items be accomplished immediately and without disrupting the production schedule of Alice In Wonderland.

We need everyone to write the Superintendent of Schools, James Notter, all of the members of the school board, and the Central Area Superintendent Dr. Leontine Butler. You can also write Dr. Butler at the following address:

Central Area Superintendent’s Office
Attn: Dr. Leontine Butler
1643 N. Harrison Parkway
Sunrise, FL 33323

Please don't read this call to action and then say to yourself "others can do that". We need your help with this. It is the only way that we are going to effect change and insure the safety of our great drama students. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the Friends of the Theatre. Thank you.

Meet The Director Night Reveals School Board "Penny-Wise/Pound Foolish" Policy

Sept. 25, 2009- Alice in Wonderland's "Meet The Director Night" was held at the Paladin Playhouse on Friday, September 25th at 7:00pm and by all accounts it was a great success. Nearly 200 parents and students were treated to a delicious catered dinner provided by Mr. D's Pizza And Subs (the best in Plantation!) of sausage and peppers, fettuccine alfredo, eggplant parmesan (my favorite!) and baked ziti.

After dinner, guests were treated to the testimonies of several parents and former students, each of whom shared their personal story of how the drama program at South Plantation High School has effected their lives and the lives of their children.

One of the hot topics of the night was the issue of the School Board of Broward County's decision to turn off the air conditioning units on Friday evenings and then turn them on again on Monday morning. This decision has resulted in a myriad of problems, the most important of which is the safety of the students who are now forced to work in the sweltering heat of the auditorium during their Saturday & Sunday rehearsals. Then there is the mildew that grows in anything that is made of fabric, including the seats in the playhouse, curtains, and costume materials. This poses a safety hazard for the students and destroys school board property that ultimately will have to be replaced. The moisture is so dense that on Monday one can see puddles of standing water on the stage! This degree of moisture can and will destroy thousands and thousands of dollars worth of theater equipment- including the one year old Yamaha audio console that was installed last year at a cost of $20,000.00! Already, the $8,000.00 cyclorama purchased with FOTT funds has water stains on it!

In the next few weeks we will be organizing a campaign to keep the air conditioning on in the SPHS auditorium over weekends. Please use the form to the left of this page to sign up and receive periodic emails from the FOTT including steps YOU can take to help us end this ridiculous "penny-wise/pound foolish" school board policy. And thank you for your support of the arts in education!