The air in Travis Elementary has been tested and the results some parents and staff have anticipated are in.
Precipitated by staff and parent concerns and “problems in past years with people thinking there was black mold,” according to Vice President David Bullock, the board hired an outside consultant to sample the air quality in Travis.

“We wanted an independent test to evaluate the air quality to make sure there wasn’t a problem,” added Bullock.
On Thursday, the Mineral Wells ISD school board heard the results from independent environment consultant Lambert and Associates Inc.’s indoor air quality investigation and mold assessment.

The good news, reported by Gary Lambert, was that he found no evidence of black mold. The small areas of mold he found were what he termed “common types of mold.”

“You’re OK as far as mold. There was no airborne mold where I looked,” said Lambert.

Lambert indicated that he saw mold in classrooms 606, 611 and 613 and sent “air-o-cell,” or airborne, and tape-lift mold samples from these rooms to an independent laboratory for analysis.

“Everywhere I looked and sampled I didn’t see a problem with mold,” he added.

“The mold outside was considerably higher than anything inside the school,” said Lambert, adding that this was “a good thing.”

He later explained that a “sick building” would be one in which the mold was greater than the outside counts or one that had strange gases.

“It takes a lot to be a sick building,” Lambert said. After investigating Eagle Mountain-Saginaw school prior to the start of school he recommended shutting it down. More recently he found a problem at a Tarrant County College building where maintenance trucks were being parked at the fresh air intake.

“In those instances, it’s time to get out of the building and that makes a sick building. That wasn’t the case [at Travis]. It can get better, though,” he said.

While he did not find a mold problem, Lambert found “some things which I consider need some attention.”
He termed his investigation a “general profile” that also examined temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide.

The biggest factor Lambert discovered was high levels of carbon dioxide (exhaled air) than acceptable for most of the classrooms he tested.

“They’re not getting enough fresh air,” Lambert told board members.

“Either there are too many students, too much activity or not enough fresh air,” he said and suggested opening the fresh air intakes on air conditioner units or opening the windows. “We’ve done it for thousands of years,” he said regarding opening windows.

His report states that indoor carbon dioxide levels should be below 1,000 parts per million. Of the nine classrooms tested, only one was below that level.

For instance, Lambert’s report indicates that Travis classroom 606 tested at 3,192 ppm of carbon dioxide and classroom 508 at 2,960 ppm of carbon dioxide.

Another factor cited on Lambert’s report was, “The relative humidity was higher inside most classrooms than the outside air.”

“The moisture should be lower than the outside,” he explained to the board.

An additional finding was the “general cleanliness of the air.” Airborne particles were high, which Lambert attributed to “clutter” or “stuff” in the classrooms that would make cleaning difficult for the janitorial staff.
“You need a general cleanup. There is too much stuff – boxes of things, animal skins [which Lambert found in one classroom] and some unnecessary stuff that the janitorial staff cannot clean around,” he said adding that he would call Travis a “dirty building.”

The final recommendations by Lambert and Associates Inc. were to:

• Increase fresh air and lower carbon dioxide to less than 1,000 parts per million in all classrooms.
• Reduce the humidity inside the classrooms.
• Reduce airborne concentrations of particles in classrooms to provide a clean teaching environment.

In the report’s conclusion, Lambert noted, “Data does not indicate a pattern of combined conditions that could contribute to overall poor air quality in the building. Based on the results from this inspection and testing, it appears that the building needs more fresh air to lower the carbon dioxide.”

The report also cited that “some maintenance of the [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] system had already begun.”

In other business, MWISD board members:

• Approved an order authorizing to refinance a portion of the district’s outstanding Unlimited Tax School Building and Refunding Bonds, Series 1998 at a lower interest rate. Issued in two installments – “Series 2007 Bonds” and “Series 2008 Bonds” – the refinancing is expected to save the district $1.34 million on a $15.865 million dollar issuance.
• Certified substantial completion on the tennis courts and on the complete construction project at Mineral Wells Junior High.
• Discussed the future of Miller Stadium. According to Superintendent Ray Crass, the board approved the use of the stadium for this coming year for the Mineral Wells Soccer Association on the Mineral Wells Little League, but did not opt to issue a long-term lease contract at this time. Board members will meet on this again on Jan. 13.
• Decided to hire a third-party search firm to provide a list of potential candidates for a superintendent to replace Crass, whose last official day is Dec. 31. The board will meet on Thursday at 6 p.m. to interview candidates to serve as interim superintendent. The board stated that they hope to have someone in place by the first of the year.

http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/local/local_story_358110531.html

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