THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9411070033
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Four years after complaints began circulating at a Virginia Beach high school about stale air, some students have taken to wearing surgical masks to class to protest the continuing problem.
Students and their parents say school administrators have dragged their feet over the air-quality problems linked to physical ailments at Salem High School and seven other city schools.
In addition to donning the protective attire, some students have signed petitions and planned walkouts to protest.
Victor Lepere, 46, who has three daughters at Salem, believes the matter will come down to politics and whether the School Board can get enough money from the City Council to pay for solutions.
``I know you can't fix all these things overnight, but four years seems to be just a ridiculously long period of time to remedy the problems,'' he said. ``The school took about half that time to build.''
The schools were diagnosed with ``sick building'' syndrome, a condition caused by faulty heating coupled with ventilation and air conditioning units that don't circulate air properly. The problems have occurred in newer buildings designed for energy efficiency with minimal exposure to outside air.
Mold and mildew invading the schools have been blamed for some people's aggravated allergies and respiratory difficulties.
Paul Garrison, the school system's director of environmental services, said he and other school officials are working quickly to remedy the situation.
``I don't have an answer for how to improve the schedule,'' Garrison said. ``It's time to do it right, and unfortunately the time schedule is not what we want.''
School officials responded to the complaints in December 1992 by initiating a study led by a consultant from Virginia Tech. The consultant's contract was renewed last month.
In the past six months, officials have taken concrete steps to fix the problems permanently. There still are no estimates on how much the procedures will cost or how long they will take.
``It's just not a simple matter,'' Garrison said. ``And there's no way to do it that's going to make the parents happy.''
In the meantime, dehumidifiers and air cleaners have been placed in the schools. Cleaning crews spend extra time clearing mold and mildew and installing new air filters.
Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette has granted parents from the eight schools permission to transfer their children to any city school, even though, he said, experts have tested the air and deemed it safe for occupants.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS
by CNB