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Roof at JFK school in DP collapses; parents outraged but district moves quickly to ease concerns Deer Park residents attended a school board meeting last week to express their outrage over an incident at the John F. Kennedy Intermediate School on Monday, March 26th in which the third grade corridor roof collapsed from extensive water damage. No one was injured in the incident, but it raised questions within the community about the school building's infrastructure as well as concerns about health and safety. "Is this building safe?" asked resident Lorraine Herbst. "I am concerned about the air quality. Did you look into other issues of moisture?" Herbst added. "Would I send your child here knowing there is a problem," said School Board Trustee Dennis Ryan, as he took the microphone at one point in the meeting in an attempt to ease some of the tension at the meeting. "We are not going to put your children in jeopardy." Ryan has a child that attends John F. Kennedy Intermediate School and he assured the residents that he would not send his child to school if he felt it was unsafe. "We have all been through a horrifying week," said School Board President Michael Oddo. Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Elizabeth Marino agreed and added that the 10-year-old roof has been problematic. "The ice storm exasperated the problem." she said, adding that the district took swift and comprehensive steps to address the issue. That included directing the Kirt Gottkowski, director of building and grounds to hire an environmental agency, J.C. Broderick Consultants, to conduct an inspection for mold and other hazardous materials in the school building. Brandon Broderick who represented the firm gave a presentation to the community to demonstrate the extent of the roof damage and what his firm was doing to address the problem. Broderick explained that the first step is to identify where the leak is. Next, his company had to determine how the leak occurred and then to to detect what building materials were ruined. Finally, his company made a visual assessment on the damage, which included the use of infrared technology to locate mold and conducted air sampling to ensure that there was no airborne contaminants such as mold and mildew. Broderick's visual inspection of the primary area was a 12-foot x 12-foot section around room 23 in the third grade corridor. He noted that the wood was stained, but there was no visual mold. He also identified rust on the roof, which he said was the result of a prolonged condition. The decking was clean, and the concrete and pipes were free of mold growth. His visual assessment concluded that there are active leaks and the damage impacted the ceiling tiles, which were removed in order for the area to dry properly. Dehumidifiers were installed for quicker drying. A final visual inspection will include a moisture test on the materials when they are dry, and as a follow up, the area will be inspected daily. "There is no reason to believe this building is not safe." Oddo told the residents.. "Was the entire building inspected?" an angry Herbst asked. "We had an emergency situation and an inspection of the entire building will be looked at," Marino reassured the concerned resident. Many residents wanted to know how the air samples were done. "Where did you take the air samples from and was the area closed off?" one resident shouted. "All the doors and windows were closed." Broderick responded, indicating that the air sample was taken under the right conditions. Oddo said that it would be more expensive to test the entire building, to which residents shot back: "How can we be sure that the building is safe if a more expensive investigation is done." With the public demanding a complete assessment, the board considered that option but but the residents were told that once the process begins, it will take two weeks. No date for that work to begin has been set. One high school student asked why the district doesn't file an insurance claim for the repairs. "We were talking about that prior to the meeting and we are looking at the warranties." Oddo answered. Ryan explained that the Board is looking into options to get the roof fixed without using local taxpayer money. "We have lawyer's looking into the warranty," he said. Four days after the incident, the district posted the results of the air quality report on the Deer Park Schools website, as promised. The limited indoor mold-in-air sample report provided by J.C. Broderick & Associates, Inc. documented air samples taken from the 3rd grade corridor, rooms 28, 21, 23, 30, 25, and 32 as being clean and fee of mold spores. In addition the district has organized a task force comprised of PTA members including the PTA president Trisha Fichete, custodians, administrators, clerical, teacher's assistants, and a member representing the district office. The committee has already moved into action, meeting Thursday, March 29th to discuss the conditions of John F. Kennedy roof. Brandon Broderick who conducted the initial inspection handed out surveys to the committee to help them prioritize a course of action for the building. Over the spring break, the task force committee will accompany Broderick on the inspection process.
"They (the committee and the remediation consultants) are working well together" said Bankroft Burke, assistant superintendent for business and operations. "Together the administration and the residents will work hand and hand to ensure that the children will learn in a safe environment."
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