By Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
Four months after students and staff in the Hillsborough School District endured sweltering classrooms, school officials admitted on Monday that a widespread heating problem left many of those same individuals shivering in winter coats and gloves., The issue was reported by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jorden Schiff, at the Board of Education’s first meeting of the new year, who said the problem was present “across many buildings and in many classrooms.”, “We had far too many classrooms today that were cold,” he said. “We were very, very concerned about that and have taken action to make certain that these issues don’t continue.”, Over the course of the meeting, members of the Hillsborough Education Association (HEA), various teachers and some concerned parents voiced their displeasure with the heating situation., Amy Salinger, an Auten Road Intermediate School teacher and HEA treasurer, said classrooms in eight of the district’s nine schools were well below workplace temperature recommendations set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration., The only building that she claimed had consistent heat was Amsterdam Elementary School, though the district later stated that it was Woodfern Elementary School., According to OSHA, workplaces should strive to maintain an average temperature between 68 and 76 degrees Fahrenheit., Ms. Salinger said classrooms at Auten Road Intermediate School were consistently below 60 degrees. In at least two classrooms, she said, radiators burst due to the cold, causing students to relocate to another room in the building., As far as the district is concerned, Dr. Schiff said expectations for proper heat levels when school buildings are not occupied is approximately 62 degrees. When class is in session, the district aims at keeping its buildings close to 69 degrees., “There should never be no heat,” Dr. Schiff said. “The buildings should be no cooler than 62 degrees.”, Over the weekend, outside temperatures in Hillsborough hovered in the mid-to-low twenties, with some snowfall on Saturday., Elena Maucere, a Hillsborough High School teacher and second vice-president of the HEA said that as of 10:39 a.m., there were 39 areas that were registering abnormally low temperatures. Of those rooms, 16 read below 60 degrees, with some as cold as 29 degrees., “The short-term fix would be to relocate the people affected, however in a building that’s basically at maximum capacity, where should these students and staff be relocated?” Ms. Maucere asked. “What learning and work is effectively accomplished in these extreme temperatures?”, By 12:22 p.m. on Tuesday, she said, the district purchased six space heaters and placed them in the coldest rooms after they had already been occupied for approximately five hours., Despite multiple attempts to get information about just how widespread the heating issue was within the district, officials could not be reached for comment prior to publication., Throughout the meeting, district officials often agreed with the public that the situation was unacceptable., In an effort to outline what the district was doing to address the issue, Business Administrator Aiman Mahmoud said officials spent much of Monday taking Aramark Corp. to task for its handling of this and past temperature issues., Since as early as 2011, the school district has been outsourcing the management of its building and grounds department to Aramark Corp. to provide “custodial, grounds and plant operations and maintenance management services.”, According to the most recent contract agreement, which was approved last May, the district is paying $337,699 to Aramark for those services, with an additional $80,250 for paper supplies. The contract will come up for renewal on June 30, when the district will have an option for two additional one-year extensions., Mr. Mahmoud said the district was “less than cordial” when it requested that the corporation “immediately change the leadership” associated with the district’s operations., “There are a lot of issues that surround this, but it is our hope and expectation that new leadership will be able to assist us in rectifying the situation,” Dr. Schiff said. “Again, we can’t express enough how profoundly disappointed we are in Aramark and that change needs to be made within that organization.”, Karen Cutler, a spokesperson for Aramark Corporations, blamed mechanical problems for the cold indoor temperatures on Monday., “Multiple mechanical system issues, compounded by the recent frigid temperatures, caused the boiler to shut down,” she said. “Our teams worked around the clock and quickly restored heat to the building.”, Newly selected school board President Gregory Gillette echoed those sentiments, referencing the firing of two employees as a result of the temperature problems., “This was not taken lightly at all,” he said. “This was a terrible day and we’re doing everything we can to make sure a day like this doesn’t happen again.”, Along with the firing and restructuring of how the district handles its grounds and buildings issues in the short term, Mr. Mahmoud said the district established a telephone extension specifically to address the heating issue., From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and for the foreseeable future, the business administrator said two staff members were manning extension 3478, since communication with higher ups proved to be difficult for district staff., “One of the things we noticed today was that when our principals and staff members were reaching out to buildings and grounds, they didn’t have a person (to report problems),” Mr. Mahmoud said., Exactly how those two staff members would work to address those issues was not revealed during the meeting., In addition, Mr. Mahmoud said officials were scheduled to meet with Aramark, along with the HEA, at 9 a.m. on Tuesday., According to officials, the district uses a heating and cooling system that reads thermostats in all classrooms in all buildings. One conclusion that may explain the issue on Monday was that those units may not be working properly., “It does require an analysis moving forward, but I do want to emphasize that there have been issues for years now and we have to question what the systemic issues or barriers are that are limiting our ability to maintain a comfortable and appropriate learning environment for our students and staff,” Dr. Schiff said., By the end of the day on Monday, officials also said they had contacted Aramark to ask for them to “work through the night” to address heating issues, Mr. Mahmoud reported., Though district officials stressed that the heating issue was an extraordinary occurrence, members of the HEA said deteriorating working conditions had been on their radar — and should have been on the district’s radar — for a long time., “These issues have persisted for years … and sadly, I’m wondering if they will persist,” HEA President Henry Goodhue said. “I appreciate what the board has said with regards to taking action, but I’m disappointed that it’s come to a point that we had to do it in this fashion because we have voiced these concerns numerous times.”, Along with the previous heat issues back in September and the cold temperatures on Monday, teachers referenced incidents involving rodent feces, ant infestations and toilet backups that seeped raw sewage into school hallways., “When I look at all the accolades this district has been noted for … I am thrilled. But when I take a closer look at the condition of our buildings, it just doesn’t match,” Ms. Salinger said., Robin Davinson, a teacher in the district for more than 40 years, said she regularly has to find alternate ways to make her classroom more comfortable., “In my classroom alone, we are constantly too cold or too hot,” she said. “I have to turn my heat on with a pair of scissors … we have no ability to turn them on or off.”, One parent, Samantha Hand, said she was unaware of the situations that have apparently befallen the school district that her two children attend every day., “I am horrified as a parent and somewhat horrified as a working professional,” Ms. Hand said. “I had no idea there were issues that extreme with temperatures, mice and bugs.”, Mr. Gillette said the district was “very concerned about the working conditions and student conditions in our buildings.”, Citing red tape that the board has to deal with on a regular basis, long-time member Jennifer Haley said she understood the public’s concerns and was frustrated by the board’s inability to address the issues at times., “I wouldn’t want my kids going to school in these conditions and I wouldn’t want to work in them either,” she said. “It’s not that as board members we don’t want to do anything … sometimes we can’t.”
