March 11, 2008
Burlington school administrators have dragged their feet on addressing an indoor air-quality problem at the high school, and the city School Board needs to step in and push for a solution, the president of the city teachers union said Monday.

"We have a right to demand a safe and healthy work environment," Rebecca Smith said. "That's not something we have right now."

Smith plans to go before the School Board tonight to present a Burlington Education Association statement to the board imploring it to put pressure on school district officials to confront the problem at the school before it gets worse.

"How long will the board tolerate unhealthy air in Burlington High School?" the statement released by Smith said in part. "Do we wait as long as the state government did with the Bennington state office building, where pleas to address poor air quality ultimately led to serious illnesses and the shuttering of the building?"

The Bennington facility was closed last year after six state workers reported cases of sarcoidosis, an asthma-like ailment. Smith said six teachers at Burlington High School have developed rashes over the past few years that appear to be caused by air problems at the school. She said at least one student may have been affected.

"It is probably only a matter of time before more teachers, administrators, visitors and students become ill," Smith's statement warned. An estimated 1,500 people work or pass through the school complex every day.

The air-quality issue at Burlington High School was first raised in 2002 after three teachers were hospitalized at Fletcher Allen Health Care with heart-related illnesses that were blamed on poor air circulation at the school.

In 2004 and 2005, the school performed a test that concluded the building had no significant air-quality problem. In January, Burlington school officials announced a plan to fumigate the school's "E" building and then canceled it after concluding it was unclear what the fumigation would address.

Burlington High School principal Amy Mellencamp has said she believes the rashes are tied to the school's air quality because the symptoms decline during vacation times then crop up again when the teachers return to work.

Smith, in her statement, said the school district had recently taken "forced half-steps" to address the air-quality problems by agreeing to keep the facility's ventilation system on during the winter, replace air filters more frequently and repair broken dampers.

"Over the years, routine maintenance of the school ... has been deferred," Smith said. "The building is old, and the deteriorated air quality in it is clearly a problem."

Thomas Fleury, the School Board president, did not respond to a request for an interview Monday afternoon. The board meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Ira Allen Administration Center at 150 Colchester Ave.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080311/NEWS02/803110302/1007
 
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