July
1, 2014
The
Union of Grass Valley
By Ivan Natividad
A Nevada County grand jury
report released Monday found that two schools that are part of the Grass Valley
School District are exposing students to dangerous health and safety issues.
After receiving a complaint
regarding substandard conditions at the district’s facilities, the grand jury
conducted site visits to Bell Hill Academy and Grass Valley Charter School.
“These hazardous conditions are
endangering the health and safety of students, teachers, staff, parents and
visitors because no one has taken responsibility for repair, even though
administrators and the board of trustees have been notified in writing,” the
report states.
“Repairs have been done without
benefit of required state oversight, placing anyone entering these facilities
at risk.”
During the grand jury
investigation, jurors took pictures showing that hazardous facility conditions
from the 2010-11 school year have not been addressed.
Jurors reportedly found various
health and safety hazards that include mold in ceilings of classrooms,
playground beams with dry rot, exposed electrical wires at ground level, a
non-weatherproof electric box exposed in play areas with live 120-volt electric
charge, and improper storage of flammable chemicals in a non-rated office
storage locker.
The report also found that
Material Safety Data Sheet, also known as the school MSDS book, contained
unnecessary and inappropriate information rather than a list of the specific
chemicals on-site for first-responder safety.
“Lack of detail in observing
and accurately reporting substandard and dangerous conditions are obvious even
to a lay person and should have been reported by experts hired by GVSD,” the
report states.
According to the grand jury,
the county superintendent of schools is required to inspect all school
facilities and review each local district’s School Accountability Report Card
for accuracy.
In an interview with the county
superintendent of schools, jurors found that she was unaware of the duties
imposed on her office to provide for a safe environment at each school
facility, and that she should make required inspections and conduct report
reviews of all school facilities in Nevada County as outlined in the education
code.
Nevada County Superintendent of
Schools Holly Hermansen said she has not had an opportunity to review the grand
jury report thoroughly to formulate a response, and did not know about the
health and safety issues the two schools had, prior to the grand jury
investigation.
“I did notice, however that the
grand jury referred to the responsibilities of the county superintendent under
Education Code 1240 to assess the conditions of the facilities and ensure the
accuracy of the School Accountability Report Card,” Hermansen said.
“Under the Williams Act, these
responsibilities are only applicable for schools that have been identified by
the California Department of Education as schools in deciles 1 to 3 of the
Academic Performance Index.”
Hermansen added, “None of the
schools in the Grass Valley School District have been identified as schools in
deciles 1 to 3. That said, as the county superintendent of schools, I have an
interest in the safety and well-being of all the students and schools in the
county, and will be working with the school district to address any concerns
and see how my office might provide assistance.”
In a grand jury interview with
the Grass Valley School District Superintendent’s office, jurors found that the
district hired a construction consultant to act as a liaison with the
California Department of Architecture and a construction consultant to inspect
the current facilities and report any deficiencies.
Public schools are required to
obtain California Department of General Services approvals for construction
projects.
The grand jury found that there
were two major construction projects completed, one at Grass Valley Charter
School and one at Bell Hill Academy, for the removal of mold and reconstruction
of damaged areas of classrooms believed to be completed between 2010 and 2011.
There is no record on file with
the state for the two construction projects, and the construction records on
file for the school district revealed 15 total projects, according to the grand
jury report.
None of those projects included
the concerns listed in the grand jury report.
In support of its findings, the
grand jury recommended that the county and district superintendents should
direct staff to adhere to the safety requirements of their office and schools.
The GVSD board of trustees
should also direct the superintendent to review the contracts for work on Grass
Valley Charter School and Bell Hill Academy to remove mold, mildew and rot from
these sites and verify the work was done according to contract, while also
verifying all this work performed was state approved, inspected, and complies
with codes concerning safe schools.
GVSD Superintendent Eric
Fredrickson and district board members could not be reached for comment.
Business Manager Jodi LaCosse,
though, said Monday, “At this time the district has not had sufficient time to
review the grand jury report and therefore cannot comment on it at this time.”
The county superintendent of
schools has until Aug. 30, and the school district has until Sept. 30 to
respond to the grand jury findings and recommendations.
To contact Staff Writer Ivan
Natividad, email inatividad@theunion.com or call 530-477-4236.
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