Students, PTSA take stand on building decay

Decked out in lab coat and safety glasses, senior Leslie Hansen stood with her back to the window as Fred Lampazzi, Biotechnology Lab Director, instructed a lab in DNA Science. It was homecoming week of 2004, and Hansen attentively listened to the instructor. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Hansen saw something fall. For a split second, she thought it was just the window blinds shifting. Then - smack. The plastic of a fluorescent light cover cracked on her head, the metal on it slicing Hansen's leg as she fell down.

A case like Hansen's may be rare - it's not often that light covers plummet onto students - but it's just another indication of how decayed and stressed the school's construction is. As Jefferson has aged through time, becoming increasingly populated and worn away, its students, parents, and faculty have become concerned about safety. On Oct. 25, three PTSA officers met with Douglas Tyson, assistant principal, and building supervisor Larry Bridges. Their goal was to discuss the bare facts regarding Jefferson's building.

The PTSA's priorities were numerous. Roof leaks and classroom mold were investigated; paint and water fountains call for replacing; urinals leak, and some learning cottages still await promised furniture.

Following these discoveries, Bernadette Saperstein, 1st vice president of the PTSA, summarized the findings in an online report, posted on the PTSA's website.

Early on in the year, the PTSA had become aware of issues with Jefferson's building plant. 

"At a PTSA meeting, we were talking about how some people were sick in the building. Other people had noticed that the new classrooms didn't have proper science tables, and the trailers had elementary school furniture," said Saperstein. "People started asking questions, and we started to realize that maybe there were a lot more issues with the school building than we as parents really understood before."

Concerns over health arose after students and teachers fell ill.

"At the beginning of the year a lot of people were sick on the second floor," said Saperstein. "That's partly how this got into the PTSA meeting. We asked, 'Why is there mold?' Well, there are leaks in the roof. This all led to us asking for immediate [review] of these issues."
 
One member of the Jefferson community to get sick was Principal Elizabeth Lodal. Within minutes of being inside of an upstairs classroom, she had a severe reaction to the mold.

 "I decided to walk around and give teachers moral support," said Lodal. "I walked in to talk to [the worker] …after two or three minutes, I could feel my throat closing. I said, 'I can't breathe, and I've got to get out of here.'"

 Mold appears to be the most prevalent of all issues. Students have expressed both concern and dismay at its presence.

"My anthropology classroom gave Mrs. Lodal an asthma attack. It was so moldy," said Will Lipovsky, senior. "Since the first day of school, it smelled like cat urine… They came in and washed everything, and then tried to fix the ceiling where it was letting water in. We still have to have a dehumidifier in the room at all times though."

Apprised of these conditions, the PTSA has discussed possible action. Faculty and students will be asked how often classroom mold has affected their health. Digital photos will document problems areas throughout Jefferson.
 
At a Jan. 9 PTSA meeting, parents and teachers voiced their concerns about the dilapidation. PTSA President Debbie Kilpatrick made it clear that the issue necessitated involvement from many of the Jefferson community.

"Two people, three people cannot do this," said Kilpatrick. "It's just too big."

"Tiles are falling in, stuff is falling on the supercomputer, and even when the air conditioning is on, the building is still overheated in the computer labs," said Saperstein. "Most of the rooms in the hall are so moist that paper wrinkles and paint peels off the walls."

The online petition regarding the building's condition has garnered a massive following. Accessible from the PTSA's website, it has gathered 962 signatures. Addressed to the Fairfax County School Board, the petition asks the Board to look into the PTSA's concerns about health and safety issues. It also requests that Jefferson be provided with a new facility that would "reflect the best in scientific and technological school design for the 21st century."

The undersigned include a wide range of the Jefferson community: Students, alumni, parents and faculty all express concern. Comments range from "You are blind if you cannot see that changes must be made," to "Let's sell the current building to finance a new one. The current one is not worth renovating."

The PTSA continues to seek testimonials from students and teachers regarding health issues. They have also invited the school board chair and vice chair to a presentation and tour of the building.

For now, however, students and faculty will have to get by with what they have. Senior Nam Le is one member of the Jefferson community who doesn't find the situation too upsetting.

 "I don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be," said Le. "We just have a lot of misallocated stuff. I think the building itself isn't bad enough to be a priority."

Conversely, Saperstein feels that the priority must be the wellbeing of students and faculty.

 "We just want a safe, healthy learning environment for our students," she said. "We just want what everyone else has in the county. Proper furniture and a safe classroom.  I think that's not unreasonable to expect."

However, getting the financing for such repairs may be difficult. "It's a dollars and cents issue," said Tyson. "The board of supervisors allots only so much money to the system for repairs and renovations, and it's an extremely difficult task for them to decide where to allocate to. It's just not enough money."

 Lodal believes that county money must be allocated to Jefferson renovations. "Our [school] budget is all about teacher salaries. The county has to be able to deal with the present and plan for the future. There has to be a temporary solution."

 To advance that "temporary solution," a list of requests has been submitted. "We sent in an enormous repair list," said Lodal. "You'll see more repairmen around."

The PTSA also sent students, parents and teachers to the FCPS School Board Capital Improvement Planning (CIP) Public Hearing last Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at Luther Jackson Middle School. The CIP focused on major school renewals and additions at schools like Jefferson, Glasgow Middle School and W.T. Woodson High School.

Students and parents from the Jefferson community addressed the school board, explaining the school's situation.

"TJ belongs to everyone," said Kilpatrick. "Although, when we have issues, it seems like we belong to no one."
Saperstein, too, presented her simple wish to the board.
"All we want," she said, "Is a healthy and safe learning environment for our kids."

SGA Community Coordinator Corinna Pan called for urgency.
"Our students feel action should be taken immediately," she said.