School may reopen after spring break

Cleanup of mold takes longer than expected

BEATTY -- When Pahrump Valley High School students return to school after spring break April 8 they should be able to resume classes in the school building itself, Nye County School District Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Don Brod told school board members here Monday.

Pahrump Valley High has been closed since Jan. 23 when the mold spore stachbotrys chartarum was detected in the 600 classroom wing and locker room areas. Students have attended school in 16 modular buildings and the new Pahrump Valley Center. They have been eating lunch in a mess tent set up behind the building.

School board member Bobbi Hommel asked Brod if it's true students could be back in the building by April 1. Brod said, "It's looking that way."

"Some of the cleaning that had to be done is taking longer than expected," Brod said. "They took some samples Thursday in an art room and the samples failed. So they had to do some more cleaning there."

It's not unusual for two or three samples to be taken in an area before determining whether it's safe to move back in, Brod said. Environmental Health Services reported that total fungal spores detected in the microbial air samples collected inside the 500 and 600 classroom wings were lower than or similar to outside areas. The company will test the locker room this week, and official hop those samples will come up favorable, he said.

"April 1st still looks good, but that extra week in there is probably going to help us," Brod said referring to spring break March 30-April 6.

"You can see where stucco is cracked, water was leaking into the wall," he told the school board. "It seems like we're seeing a lot of construction deficiencies. A lot of that occurred when the building was first built."

The mold infestations were blamed on a flood in the summer of 1997 in the gym and hallway. In September 1997, there was a water break in the 600 classroom wing on the west side of the gym. The mold grew out of water damage.

Environmental Health Services has been testing other school buildings in the Pahrump area and has now moved to the northern part of the county as well, Brod said. Mount Charleston Elementary School, Beatty schools, Manse Elementary School and Amargosa Valley Elementary School have all been found to have no problem with mold, he said. The janitors' room and counselors' room at J.G. Johnson Elementary has been cleared for re-entry.

Hafen Elementary School is cleared of mold, except the locker room area, Brod's report stated. The Nye County School District Southern Regional Office back store room and computer area are shut down and being readied for remediation. Tom McManus, president of Environmental Health Services, had concerns at Round Mountain school from a previous break in a sprinkler pipe that will require further inspection and testing, Brod said.

School board members voted to hire Greenspan Co./Adjusters International of Las Vegas to negotiate with Coregis Insurance over coverage for flood damage to the high school. Greenspan Co. Regional Vice President Michael Feller said his company collects 30 percent to 40 percent more in settlements from insurance companies. Their fee would be 10 percent of the settlement.

Hommel cast the sole vote against hiring Greenspan. She said the school district has a good relationship with Coregis Insurance.

Nye County School District Business Manager Ray Richie said the district signed a $266,000 contract with Valentine Construction for tearing out dry wall and other fixtures to get rid of the mold problem. That doesn't include testing costs. Fuller said the insurance company reimbursed the district $140,000 for flood damage in 1997, which wasn't enough to clean the gym floor. Insurance companies tended to downplay concerns over mold in the past, he said.

The district is also having problems with a contractor that built phase II of the new $21.6 million Rosemary Clarke Middle School before that gym can be opened, Brod said. Tibesar Construction Co. received a $7.67 million contract to build the media center, administration section, science building and the shell building for the gym. Brod said there are problems with the gym floor. Last year the interior work on the gym was delayed and made part of phase III, awarded to B and H Construction Co. for $1.9 million, after the cost of phase II came in higher than expected, he said.

Documents from Tibesar Construction state the school district is still holding $370,331 in retainage from the company. Tibesar has still withheld $146,302 from its subcontractors, the company states.

In other matters, the school board voted to support one of two options for the 2002-03 school year in which students won't start school until after Labor Day. School starts Sept. 2 and ends June 13, 2003, instead of a week sooner under the other option. Winter break is Dec. 23-Jan. 3, spring break is April 21-25, the week after Easter.

Trustees approved final documents pertaining to the land exchange that will let Wal-Mart acquire four acres of land off Yellowhand Avenue. The company will also be allowed to use part of the Manse Elementary School property during construction.


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