Two people have expressed concerns this week about the conditions of our schools AND potential health issues these conditions could bring about for our children. There are in fact two separate situations which currently exist at two different schools that bring about these concerns. Both relate to paint. They are as follows:
1) Some time ago this person was picking up their daughter from Fruitland Primary on South Division Street and people were power washing the breeze way in front of the school. Yellow paint was blowing all over the place. They asked one of the COUNTY workers if they were going to sweep up the paint chips and they indicated they would. According to this person, it's been more a month and the water puddles and grassy area in front of the school are saturated with big and little chips of this yellow paint. The grass has been cut twice and the paint chips are still there. It is not known to this person whether or not it is lead based paint but are still concerned that it is not good for it to just be sitting around were little kids can pick it up. Let alone how bad it is for the birds and animals that may ingest it.
2) I was contacted by a friend who recently attended a chorus concert which was held in the gymnasium at the East Salisbury School. He advised that when he entered the gym he noticed the the condition of the paint on the walls was absolutely unacceptable. He stated that the paint was peeling off of the walls in approx. one square foot sections in one area and took pictures with his camera phone so that everyone could see what he was concerned about. Someone once said a picture paints a thousand words so here you go.
The concerns of the person making the first complaint revolved around health and the environment. The second person was more particularly pissed at the way the schools are being permitted to deteriorate. Both, in my opinion, are valid.
Although I haven't made any inquiries to the schools about the aforementioned issues, I intend to do so. It's not my intent to point the finger of blame at anyone but I will be contacting Tom Field to get some answers.
I would like to make a few points at this time.
I don't know the ages of these two buildings but I do know that some school buildings in Wicomico County are quite old.
It was common practice to use lead based paint on the interior of buildings constructed prior to 1950.
It was common practice to use lead based paint on the exterior of buildings constructed prior to 1978.
Lead paint in good condition is NOT a hazard - it is the degradation (such as chipping, peeling, and exposing it to a situation likely to cause friction and subsequently turning it to dust) of lead paint that is the hazard.
While children age 6 and under, as well as pregnant women, are at the highest risk of developing health problems, anyone at any age can become lead poisoned. Lead is a heavy metal which, when ingested, remains in the blood at detectable levels for about 45 days. After that it migrates to the bone marrow where it has a half life of about 30 years. Although lead poisoning symptoms are very similar to symptoms of the flu, permanent severe damage can occur to the central nervous system.
Short of a chemical test of the paint Or an x-ray fluorescent test, one must operate under the presumption that the paint used on buildings built within the parameters listed above, contains lead.
The laws relating to lead paint and the requirements by law to comply with the Lead Paint Risk Reduction Standard apply to rental properties and daycare facilities. I'm not sure if these laws apply to schools.....but that's not important. If a school contains lead paint and the paint is chipping and peeling, a lead hazard to the students exists. As long as that hazard exists, there is a risk that a child could become lead poisoned. One would think that any risk such as this (which is easily remedied) would be eliminated.
19 comments:
You can thank the tax cap for this one...no money for the schools to take care of their buildings.
No money to take care of their buildings due to the tax cap?? Give me a break. But there is money for a 10% bonus for three years for those retiring within that time and money enough for some to keep thousands of dollars of a retirement bonus but not retire. There is money to hire dozens of coordinators, liaisons, managers, etc, especially in facilities, technology, and transportation. There is money to hire two retiring principals to help mentor new administrators. There is money for a director of curriculum while there is also money for directors of elementary and secondary education who do nothing with instruction. There is money for a coordinator of staff development whose job could easily be done by a secretary. There is money for a supervisor of math and one for reading and enough more money to pay two full-time coordinators to help each one of them do their jobs. There is money for a school climate specialist who was an excellent teacher but not a specialist in school climate. There is always money for positions at the Board. Perhaps the tax cap causes the Board to have less county money to spend but it cannot be blamed for the way they allocate it.
I went to East Salisbury back in the early to mid 80's, and they had shut down the gym to paint around that time. They sealed off the gym stripped it and then painted it. I do not believe they would have put back up lead based paint when they did the job. As that is when people were being warned not to use lead based paint.
Ali
Ali,
That's good to know. It should put the concerns of many to rest relating to lead paint. The photo seems to indicate that the failure of the paint may be due to some type of water leak. Maybe the roof. I agree with anon. 7:49. There is money available to paint a gym wall. The question is from what part of the budget do we take it. That 10% unchecked bonus thing seems like a viable alternative.
Thats right I do thank the cap every day.
East Salisbury's Gym had chip paint just last year in the Gym, don't know about this year, but it probably still does.
All the schools have been environmentally inspected for paint and asbestos etc...and cleared. Its the state law. My guess is they can't paint while the kids are in school and it looks like a water penetration problem to me that will be dealt with at the end of the school year. The school is old, but they do have strict standards they have to deal with.
It's a shame that we're spending money like there's a money tree out back for some things and not for what's really important, like our schools. Look at it this way.
If our schools suck, then people won't want to buy houses here, and then our real estate market sucks. I've never heard of anyone considering moving to an area "how is our fire equipment in this neighborhood"? Our priorities are messed up.
I am a teacher at this school. Yes, the building is old, and yes, we pray for a new building. However, we are far down the list as other schools are deemed needier. The reason the LATEX paint does this is because the gym is non-air-conditioned, and receives afternoon sun everyday. It is not uncommon for the gym to reach temperatures of 100 degrees. The entire main building (aside from the administration's offices) has no air-conditioning. This is considered a luxury. The gym is painted every other summer I believe. The extreme heats are what cause this. Granted, it looked horrible and frankly speaking, it isn't pleasant having to invite families in there for performances, but there are no health issues with latex paint to my knowledge.
you can thank overpaid teachers for this. the people voted overwhelming for the tax cap. meaning CUT things like teachers and county employee salaries and meet a budget, without putting it on our shoulders. we've no kids, and never will. and no argument will convince me my taxes should pay for anyone elses education. our parents paid ours, why the heck are they still paying. wicomico need to drop education spending by 5 million easily.
They will have to pry that tax cap out of my cold dead hands.
The payroll for administrators at the top of the board of ED for the whole state probably equal what all teachers are paid combined. The kids they have to deal with aren't like the kids were when we grew up.
Used to be they may have had to break up a couple fights and bust smokers in the bathrooms. Kids today carry guns and other weapons to school to kill masses. FYI I am not a teacher or a county employee.
Anonymous 12:51 PM
If you’re a Teacher, Shouldn’t you be teaching at 12:51PM?
Also when you stated, “This is considered a luxury." I want to know what you were referring to, the no air conditioning conditions, the chipped paint condition or 100 degree temps in the GYM! I mean let us know what you are considering the luxury. I mean the only ones that have the luxury of having AC at that school is the office, which I consider that unfair and cruel, being the kids have no AC!
Also if it is embarrassing to bring families in the GYM because of the chipped paint, why do they paint it every OTHER year, Why not every summer?
Concerned Parent
Joe, I posted a comment on the Daily Times in your defense, I know people are going to slaughter my comment, but I don't entertain ignorance so I will just leave it at that.
anonymous 7:50, Thank You!
East Salisbury is not the only school with an air-conditioned office and stifling classrooms in the spring and late summer/early fall. I believe that is the case at both Bennett schools and at West Salisbury. Until a year ago, it was an issue at Westside Primary. If pleasant conditions aren't necessary for the pupils and the teachers, they are not necessary for the administrators either. Also, the point of sending students back to school during the hot, humid days of August is to give them 5 more days of instruction prior to state testing in April. Who cares if some can't function due to the heat that's built up in the rooms?
Anonymous 7:50 PM.....
I thought I was pretty clear when I stated that air conditioning is considered a luxury (I know you didn't actually think I meant the chipped paint or the sweltering heat are luxuries. But if you did, I apologize for the school system failing you).
No child should have to suffer sitting in extreme heat and humidity. Learning can not occur in this type of environment. Unfortunately our 3rd grade is subjected to these conditions. Coincidently, the main building is the only portion of East Salisbury not air-conditioned. Both wings have full air-conditioning. Some of the main building can not be done because the wiring is not rated for the units. Of the main building, the office, one third grade classroom, and the library have been upgraded and have air-conditioning. I agree it is unfair for some and not all to have air-conditioning. I believe every school, every classroom, and every hallway should have air-conditioning, especially since three months of the year are during warm, humid months.
Being I don’t work for facilities, I can’t answer to the scheduling of painting. I was simply trying to shed some light on why the gym is in the condition, based on what I have been told. It looks horrible, and I share your desire to have it repaired.
Somehow I offended your "intelligence" as you felt it necessary to rebut me in an uncouth manner. This is typical with blogging because there always has to be someone like you, lurking behind anonymity, searching for conflict. You state in a separate closing to Joe you refuse to entertain ignorance. If such is the case, you should concede here you were misinformed party.
As to your other remark regarding "shouldn't I be teaching..." It is called lunch, and I like reading news during this time to stay informed (it is my only free time). But I'm sure we "overpaid" teachers shouldn't even eat. [By the way Joe, this is the first place I go to read local news]
PS - It’s my lunch time now, just in case you felt it necessary to know.
Grand Dad was told by the Board months ago that there would be a question-answer feature added to its website to improve communication. He was sure they would do it because it was such a quick action to take and he believed they were not just trying to shut him up. Wonder what he thinks now.
To 4:38PM. You want to blame the "over-paid" teachers? I suppose you also believe teacher's hours are 8-3 Monday through Friday, weekends and summers off. Well wake up! Teachers work far more than the traditional forty hours per week. There are things like lesson plans, research, test grading, etc. that require time that exceeds the normal "lecture" hours. Many teachers purchase materials for their classrooms with their own money. Overpaid?? Compare what most professions requiring a Master's degree pay to that of a teacher. There maybe problems that exist in the education system but I can assure you your thinking is way off target. Obviously education is not important to you. Fortunately not everyone thinks like you do. To say you shouldn't have to pay taxes, to support education, is quite a selfish statement. Maybe you should climb out of your small world and look at the big picture. For what it's worth I am not a teacher, just someone who knows the value of a quality education.
For the teacher from East Salibury.
The gym has not been painted in the last 2 years at least. The is crazy to have anything in our public schools look like this. Do we not have inmates in our jails that are on work release. Oh my that might be bad to make them work.................
For all the teachers out there most of you do a great job.
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