THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 4, 1995 TAG: 9509040028
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
They are akin to giant get-well cards: red, white and blue banners raised on the side of fire-ravaged Princess Anne High School: ``We PA'' and ``P.A.H.S. will rise!''
Some are signed. One even has the handprints of its authors next to their names.
But it will be a long time before this school comes out of intensive care. And even the people who called the school home are having trouble recovering.
``We are aware of the feelings of great loss and deprivation among the faculty,'' Anne Meek, assistant superintendent for organizational support, said Sunday. ``That was apparent early Friday morning as teachers arrived at the scene. Many burst into tears.''
Crisis counselors are ready to help faculty and students deal with the emotional challenge of losing the school to an arsonist, Meek said. And school officials are planning an open forum for students and parents in the next few days.
``It would be a meeting at which people could get their questions answered,'' Meek said. ``But right now, the faculty is not yet in a position to have many of the answers for questions people will raise.''
She expects they will be by the end of the week, and she said she hopes to make an announcement Wednesday on when and where the meeting will be held.
For now, ``The faculty is extremely busy organizing for the instruction program,'' Meek said. ``It's substantially the same program that they would offer in the P.A. building.''
Where those classes will be held is still up in the air.
Right now, virtually everything that needs to be done to start the school year and the rebuilding is on hold, Meek said.
Officials are waiting for test results, due today, that will tell them how serious a problem they have with asbestos contamination.
Friday's fire, which investigators say was arson, gutted the school's main building and destroyed or severely damaged most of its critical facilities. But several wings of classrooms, the auditorium and the gymnasium were spared.
Smoke and water did get into some of those areas, but that can be cleaned up. And officials have been hopeful that at least some of the 85 classrooms they need for the school's students will be on the Princess Anne campus, Meek said.
Trouble is, the main building was built in 1954 at a time when asbestos - now known to cause cancer - was widely used. While dousing Friday's three-alarm blaze, firefighters were forced to cut through many asbestos panels, releasing potentially large amounts of asbestos fibers.
Environmental engineers have taken scores of air samples throughout the parts of the school that did not burn, Meek said. They also have taken ``wipe'' samples from floors, desks and other spots. All the samples are at a state laboratory; results are expected by this afternoon.
When those come in, the school system has a contractor ready to put up isolation barriers separating contaminated zones from clean areas, Meek said. Cleanup can then begin in areas that are structurally sound but contaminated, while parts of the building that are clear of asbestos can be prepared for use.
School officials plan to use 18 portable classrooms and several other sites around the city to provide the necessary classroom space for P.A.'s 2,000 full-time students and 740 enrolled in several special programs based at the school.
But square feet do not a classroom make.
Desks, books, audio-visual gear, computers, pencils, paper - the hands-on materials of education - must now be found.
``The administrators and teachers are grappling with these issues,'' Meek said. ``The faculty has identified textbooks as their No. 1 need.''
Teachers may have plenty of help. Meek said offers have poured in since Friday.
``On Tuesday morning we will be able to announce a coordination point for people who want to help,'' Meek said. ``We hope to be able to organize the volunteers and have their assistance in preparing for the opening of school on Sept. 12.''
There were a few pieces of good news Sunday in an otherwise grim picture.
A detailed class schedule was not lost in the fire.
``That information is very helpful'' because officials now know exactly what size rooms they need and when they need them, Meek said. ``What we are involved in now is the translation of that plan to other facilities.''
And while they will start classes at least one week late, chances are that Princess Anne students will not have to make up lost days. Meek said the paperwork is being prepared to have the school excluded from the state's normal requirement that a school year include 180 class days. MEMO: Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call investigators
at 427-4228 or Crime Solvers at 427-0000. Students, faculty and staff
seeking information can call INFOLINE at 640-5555 and enter category
7247 (PAHS).
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MOTOYA NAKAMURA, Staff
Fire destroyed much of importance at Princess Anne High School at
the Beach. But it didn't destroy school spirit. Still, Friday's
fire has been a blow, and crisis counselors are ready to help.
KEYWORDS: FIRE ARSON PRINCESS ANNE HIGH SCHOOL by CNB