Eric Essagof ‘12
Editor-in-Chief
Three English teachers have been forced to move offices after years of illness, perhaps a consequence of conditions in their former office in the English department.
The illnesses ranged from chronic sinus infections to bronchitis. The teachers, Kim Palca, Elizabeth Humphrey and Sue O’Hara, would get the same sicknesses during the same seasons each year, and they would even get the same sickness at the same time, one English teacher said.
“I get ill every September and October,” said the teacher who wished to remain anonymous due to the nature of the topic.
The school system’s position is that it is studying the problem, but air quality is not the issue, as all the offices in the English department share the same air circulation, and there have not been any other health concerns brought up by other teachers.
Nonetheless, the move seems to have solved the problem, the source said.
“This is the first time in years I haven’t gotten sick in October,” the anonymous teacher said. “I have only gotten a cold.”
According to the minutes of a Tools for Schools committee meeting taking placeOctober 14, 2011, the cause of the sicknesses still has not been found. It got so bad that, according to the anonymous teacher, they all had to get their own otolaryngologists, or ear nose and throat doctors (ENT). Two years ago, one of their ENTs suggested that their working environment might be the problem. This is when the teachers went to the administration.
The three teachers followed the protocol set by Tools for Schools, an EPA program that the Westport Public School System has opted into. The program sets up a system for helping schools acrossAmericadeal with air quality concerns. In 2009, theWestportSchool Districtwon a Tools for Schools award for National Excellence after they solved a mold problem atKingsHighwayElementary School.
During the first year of the investigation, the school had the teachers report any illness or symptom they experienced to the nurse immediately.
“It’s kind of awkward, because it’s your medical condition, and that is personal,” said the anonymous English teacher.
After something in the office was determined to be the cause of the sicknesses, the attempts at a solution began.
First, the administration had the teachers remove all of the books from their office to see if those were causing the illnesses. They were also required to clean out all of their desks so that they could be cleaned. The desks were kept empty, but the teachers continued to get sick. The measures to find the cause of the illnesses got more intense.
According to the minutes of the Tools for Schools committee meeting, when a picture of a cat was found on one of the teacher’s desks, administration officials believed that allergens might be causing the problem. The teachers were no longer allowed to keep coats in the office or the coat closet. They also had to replace fabric chairs with a school-issued vinyl-style chair.
When none of these worked, the teachers were moved to the conference room in October. They are still not allowed to have filing cabinets, coats or books.
For the administration, it’s all about solving the problem.
“We’re taking it one step at a time,” said Richard Franzis, assistant principal and Tools for Schools Keeper of the Log.
One concern is the usage of the original office. Now converted into a conference room, it is still being used by students and teachers alike. The anonymous teacher believes that students are not aware of the situation.
“People know we have a new office, but nothing has been formally addressed,” the anonymous teacher said.
There has been no testing has been done in the room. So far, there is nothing to report. According to the Tools for Schools meeting minutes, testing has not been conducted “because there was not [sic] specific substance to test for.”
