Miscues continue to plague school roof repairs

01:00 AM EST on Friday, November 28, 2003

BY MEGAN MATTEUCCI
Journal Staff Writer


NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Construction crews tried to finish roof work at the Stony Lane Elementary School on Tuesday, but were shooed out by the school's principal.

Principal Joan H. Crothers said she arrived to school just before 8 a.m. and saw workers sweeping water and ice off the roof. Crothers questioned the workers and demanded to know why they were there. She then went to call Supt. James M. Halley.

"I didn't know they were coming," she said. "All of the others times, I knew they would be there working."

While she was trying to contact Halley, the roof workers left, Crothers said.

"As far as I know, no work was done," she said.

Halley said he authorized the roof work to be done Tuesday morning, but forgot to tell the principal. He said it was a simple miscommunication between the administration and the school staff.

"Unfortunatley, there was some lack of communication," Halley added.

Stony Lane parents said "white particles were falling in classrooms" and one teacher became ill from the dust in the air. The teacher, who declined to give her name, has asthma and was having breathing problems.

But Halley and Crothers said no teachers reported any illness and no faculty member left school early.

Parents and School Committee member William C. Mudge said no roof work is supposed to be done while school is in session.

"Definitely, the School Department was advised by OSHA: no work whatsoever when school is in session," Mudge said. "It's just an example of poor management and what's going on over there."

The division of occupational safety for the state Department of Labor did not return calls.

But Halley said the workers are allowed to repair the roof as long as there is no glue involved. He said workers were planning to install facing on Tuesday, and have about two days of work left at Stony Lane and Forest Park.

"The roof still needs to be finished. There are not safety hazards," Halley said. He said he was unsure when the work will be finished because it depends on the weather.

Students and faculty at Stony Lane have twice been evacuated because of glue fumes during the roof-replacement project. Students were sent home early on Nov. 7, after the fumes leaked into at least three classrooms. Although workers had finished the roof work, students were evacuated again on Nov. 10 after teachers again complained of odors.

Davisville Elementary School students were also sent home last month after debris fell in the classrooms and lead paint was found on blinds. Last December, students at Hamilton Elementary had to be moved after tar sealant from the roof caused headaches, sore throats and upset stomachs.

Parents are now circulating a petition for Halley's removal, citing mismanagement and negligence regarding the roof project and school evacuations. The National Education Association/North Kingstown Teachers Association is also considering a vote of no-confidence in Halley over the issue.

School Committee Chairman Donald DeFedele said he will recommend the School Committee form a group of parents from each school to review the evacuation procedures and rewrite the policy.

Many parents complained that school administrators improperly evacuated students during the roof problems, leaving some children unattended at home or left with neighbors without consent from parents.

Halley said the district handbook policy is to send students home early. The Stony Lane student handbook policy is to send students to Davisville Middle School.

"We couldn't send them to Davisville because then two schools would be disrupted," Halley said.

Halley said there was confusion over the evacuation and early dismissal policies because parents were looking at the wrong handbooks.