Portable school rooms topic of concern at Lynn schools meet

LYNN – A concerned parent approached the Lynn School Committee during Thursday night’s meeting about the current condition of four portable classrooms at Sisson Elementary School.Two kindergarten classes and two first grade classes located in the portables were forced to relocate on Tuesday due to unstable structuring and a leaking roof brought on by the recent snow storms.Stacy Giguere, the parent of a first grader at Sisson, approached the Committee with a letter on behalf of herself as well as many other concerned parents whose children’s classrooms are located in the Sisson Elementary portables.”We’ve had concerns for some time now about the safety of the portables and this latest episode, while unfortunate, is timely to the discussion as to what the long term solution is for these aging structures,” Giguere writes in her letter.”We are concerned that there is lingering structural, roofing, heating and air quality issues associated with these buildings.”Giguere added that she is concerned that there might be mold present in the portable classrooms that has not been identified.”I’m not sure how old the portables are, but they absolutely need to be checked for mold before students can return to the classrooms,” she said.School Committee member John Ford said that he believes the portable classrooms are more than 30 years old.”We understand that these are old structures but we really have no other options,” said Ford.Giguere said some parents whose children’s classes are in the portables have commented that their children have been sick more often this year.”This raises the concern that these illnesses may have been brought on by heating and potential air quality issues,” she said.Three of the classrooms in the portables were relocated to other classrooms at Sisson, while one classroom was relocated to a classroom at Pickering Middle School.Another concern raised by Giguere was the fact that “it appears that many of the teaching tools and learning centers have not been taken to the temporary classroom locations,” she said.”Does this mean that our children will not be getting the same quality of education while they’re relocated to these new spaces?” Giguere writes in her letter.Superintendent Catherine Latham said the conditions of the portables was a topic she planned on discussing at the meeting and has already asked for a waiver to fix the roof.”I have asked for a waiver to fix the roof and am working with (Inspectional Services Chief and Building Commissioner) Mike Donovan,” said Latham.She added that the floors and walls will be checked for mold before students will return to the portable classrooms.”We will replace some of the wall boards, which means some flooring will also need to be replaced,” said Latham. “It might seem unfortunate to spend money on a temporary structure, but we need the rooms.”Latham said students won’t return to the portables until they are all tested by a hygienist for mold, heating and air quality.She estimates the process will take three to four weeks to complete.Latham addressed another issue regarding the safety and well-being of students during the meeting.”I want to address the conditions on O’Callaghan Way near Classical because of the various incidents that have occurred there in the past few months,” she said.Latham was referring to the incidents involving two Callahan School crossing guards who were struck by cars within 20 minutes of each other in September as well as a Lynn Classical High School junior who was hit by a car and suffered a broken leg in January. The sun’s glare was said to be responsible for the latter incident.”We are taking precautions over there to make sure nothing like this happens again,” said Latham.She said the Lynn Police Department has evaluated the situation and plans on sending police vehicles to visit the area during the time when the sun glare is the worst.”We are also using ConnectED to send emails to parents urging them to advise their children to be mor