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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 1, 2004 Mold accord reached in Talent Teacher union-school district agreement includes studies of health problems By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune TALENT — Following a year-and-a-half of complaints and investigations about possible mold at Talent Middle School, an agreement has been reached between the school district and teachers, settling a grievance filed by the teachers’ union. The agreement will establish a two-year joint committee to hear grievances, conduct studies and determine causes of any health problems alleged to be related to mold over the next two years. Amid a flurry of complaints about hives, bloody noses, fatigue, headaches, rashes and hair loss, and three worker compensation claims filed by teachers, a recent state study found no significant pollutants except mold inside the school — but in levels far lower than the outside air. There are no established unsafe levels for mold, but the agreement acknowledges "maintenance and water problems at Talent Middle School that needed to be addressed and that the (school) board has taken steps to address them." The school spent $5,000 on consultant studies and $10,000 to restore water-damaged ceiling tiles and carpeting, all during periods when the building was unoccupied. Advertisement The National Academies’ Institute of Medicine reported in May that, in damp indoor environments such as those caused by water leaks, evidence links mold spores and chemical emissions from damp building materials to upper respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and asthma symptoms in sensitive people. District and union representatives will be available to discuss the agreement at a press conference today. The parties agreed not to comment publicly until then. Sidestepping any legal responsibility for health complaints, the agreement notes that "parties will also publicly acknowledge there is disagreement within the medical community as to whether or not there is a direct causal link between the maintenance and water problems and the health-related conditions that have arisen." The board does not dispute that some teachers have been diagnosed with "serious illnesses related to environmental sensitivities, however," the agreement noted, "the board does not agree with their doctors’ assessments that there is a causal link between the work environment and the diagnosis." The agreement, signed Tuesday between the Phoenix-Talent School District and the Southern Oregon Bargaining Council representing the teacher’s union, says the board considers all complaints to be "motivated by a legitimate interest for the health and safety of all of the occupants of Talent Middle School" and calls for complainants to present their grievances before to board members within 30 days. The parties agreed to set up a "stakeholder group" no later than Oct. 1 with members representing the board, teachers, school staff, parents, the teachers’ union and district administration. The group will monitor the health and safety of the school, hire consultants and make recommendations for action to the school district. It will make a final report in two years. Participants in the agreement vowed not to solicit public support one way or the other and affirmed that the document doesn’t limit their right to seek legal action later. It also said teachers whose doctors have advised them not to return to work will be granted a year of unpaid leave on request. Requests for accommodations for active employees will be made to the superintendent, and if denied can be addressed to the stakeholder group as a "written concern." Superintendent Ben Bergreen earlier said that while tests show the building is fine — 100 to 200 mold spores per cubic meter compared with 3,000 in outside air — "all this illness tells me something is wrong." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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