Labor Dept., Halley at odds over school roof work

01:00 AM EST on Monday, December 1, 2003

BY MEGAN MATTEUCCI
Journal Staff Writer


NORTH KINGSTOWN -- A top official from the state Department of Labor and Training says he ordered that no roof work be done on North Kingstown schools while classes were in session -- an assertion that has been vigorously denied by Supt. James M. Halley.

"The roofing project should be a school vacation project," said James Larisa, the assistant administrator of the department's Occupational Safety Division.

"So what if you have to work on a Saturday or a Sunday? You can't put a pricetag on safety," he said. "They made a minuscule effort to protect the children and staff safety."

On Friday, Larisa said he told school administrators to move students to other buildings or send them home when any roof construction is being done.

"That is incorrect. Mr. Larisa is a liar," Halley said on Friday.

Parents are now trying to figure out who to blame for roof work that led to school evacuations and several students and teachers getting sick. Parents are circulating a petition that calls for Halley's removal, arguing he is in charge of student and faculty safety and should not have allowed the work to continue.

But Halley denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the workers violated his instructions not to use glue at Stony Lane Elementary School on Nov. 7. The other roof problems, he said, were "nothing."

Larisa said the other roof problems weren't "nothing," since he instructed Halley and Lewis Cahoone, the district's maintenance supervisor, not to perform any roof work when the buildings are occupied.

"I spoke to Mr. Cahoone after the first episode when they evacuated Forest Park and said, from that time on, there would be no one in school during the roof project," Larisa said.

Larisa said he also told Halley during a phone conversation that while workers are "working on the roof, there will be no school."

Halley denies any such orders, saying Larisa only told administrators not to hold classes while workers were applying glue.

"Mr. Larisa has not issued any kind of complaint ever," Halley said. "He never said they can't be in school during the work. He changes his story. The School Department will not do anything until Jim Larisa gives us something in writing."

A memo from Cahoone, the maintenance supervisor, to Halley also shows Larisa instructed the schools to be kept empty during roof work.

"Because of the concerns about odors and toxic fumes, Jim Larisa, of R.I. Department of Labor and Training, ordered the building be kept unoccupied while work on the roof was being performed," the Nov. 14 memo reads.

Students and faculty at Stony Lane Elementary School were evacuated twice 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 called the Police and Fire Departments, complaining of odors. Air tests showed the building was safe.

"They were outside for a false alarm. It was like a fire drill; nothing happened. There never was any danger to the students," Halley said on Friday.

(Davisville Elementary School students were also sent home last month during roof work 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.)

Although the most hazardous phase of the roof project is when toxic glue is applied, Larisa said any activity on the roof could affect people's safety.

Last Tuesday, workers were sweeping water off the Stony Lane roof and preparing to work. Although no work was done because the principal ordered them to stop, dust and white particles were falling from sections of the roof where ceiling tiles had been removed, Larisa said. One teacher said her throat began to close and she had breathing troubles.

Larisa recommended that administrators remove all of the ceiling tiles and clean them over the holiday vacation.

"I don't want to run to North Kingstown every time anyone gets a whiff of something," Larisa said. "The School Department is the contractor; they're responsible for the subcontractor of the roof."

Halley said he will not take any steps until he receives written instructions from Larisa's department.

"I told Halley I'm tired of going to North Kingstown to put out a fire," Larisa said. "After three schools, I would think the School Department would do something right, but apparently not."

On Friday, Halley said the School Department has acted appropriately during the roof work projects.

"We have always tried to cooperate with OSHA," Halley said. "We have never been cited and OSHA has never shut us down."