Letter to Editor November 13, 2003
This week Forest Park Elementary School has classes canceled due to roof work. Last week Stony Lane Elementary sent their students home early after the fumes from work being done on that roof sickened many. In September, Davisville Elementary School endured 2 weeks of constant disruption before those students were dismissed for 3 days so that their roof could be finished. In the early part of 2003 Hamilton Elementary School shuffled students and staff while their roof was being worked on. All of these students, with the exception of Forest Park, were exposed to toxic chemicals. It took 3 roofs and people being taken to the hospital for the Superintendent to be given no choice but to work on the 4th roof when there are no children in the building.
An upcoming seminar about autism will be discussing the following topics:
· How environmental chemicals may alter brain functions and brain growth.
· How exposure to environmental toxins can influence the neurological
health and development of children.
· The possible interaction between known genetic links and environmental
factors that may contribute to the lifelong developmental disorder of
autism."
This seminar is being sponsored by the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, with support and speakers from the University of Massachusetts, Northeastern University, and the Autism Society of America, among others. There is no way that the roofing company, the Administration or the School Committee can assure us that exposing over 1000 kids in this school district to toxic chemicals while the roof was being fixed would not have an effect on these children, or on THEIR children! It is the utmost in unethical to reek such havoc on families in this district and then not offer even one word of apology for the inconvenience, never mind the potential health threat to each and every person in those buildings.
To make matters even more dangerous in the case of Stony Lane Elementary, many of the students were taken home to empty houses in the middle of the day. There is a written policy for such matters, which states that the children would be taken to Davisville Middle School. Once again, the Administration did not follow it’s own policy. It is our feeling that the School Committee is obligated to investigate these matters and take a proactive approach to its role of oversight where the Superintendent is concerned. This is only the latest in a long list of conflicts and confrontations with a person who has a management style that does not seem to agree with many of the people who have to deal with it. The teacher contract negotiations, safety of bus stops, seemingly constant redistricting of students, etc.. are a few of the most recent issues that come to mind.
While Mr. Bill Mudge brought many of these issues to the School Committee’s table, some of the members chose to blindly follow the Administration’s recommendations. We would like to support our School Committee in their efforts to insure the safety and quality of education in North Kingstown. In order for us to do this, the School Committee needs to listen to and support the parents when they express concern and offer input on the direction this district will go in. They need to ask questions and understand all issues involved with running a school district. This includes budgets, maintenance, personnel and special education. What we too often see are members of the School Committee protecting a Superintendent who cannot even apologize or take responsibility for the danger he has put our children in.
Sincerely,
Sharon and Christopher Schubert
North Kingstown
