“I worry about mold and allergies and children and me”: Newberry teachers report mold and roach/rodent droppings in portables, lack of follow-through from District

BY AMBER THIBODAUX

NEWBERRY, Fla. – Alachua Chronicle has received reports and testimonials from five teachers at Newberry Elementary and Newberry High School who asked that their stories be shared without using their names. These firsthand accounts include mold inside portable classrooms, leading to chronic sickness; roach and rodent droppings on and inside many items stored inside the portables; humidity/temperature control issues; slippery or dangerous boardwalks leading up to the portables, including exposed rusty nails and rotten wood; and reports of non-functioning emergency window exits. 

According to Alachua County Public Schools Public Information Officer Jackie Johnson, the first seven leased portable classrooms were placed in 2017 to alleviate overcrowding at Newberry Elementary. The current cost to rent the 14 leased portable classrooms per year is $101,640 ($8,400 per month). All other portables at the three Newberry schools are owned by the district. 

Below are the accounts of five Newberry teachers, in their own words; we have confirmed the identities of the teachers but will refer to them below as “Teacher A, B, C, D, and E.”

Teacher A (Newberry Elementary):

“During the 2017-2018 school year, I was moved into one of the newly added portable rows that are housed at the back of the school. Within a few weeks of being in there, I started to notice an awful smell. I complained to our principal at the time, who said it was from the A/C units. She had the district come out to check, and they removed all the filters to the A/C units in all the portables. By February of 2018, I started to feel sick while at school – the janitors said my room smelled the worst.

“The principal at the time decided to move me out of that room and down two doors to a different portable in the same row. This one smelled just as bad. The principal and janitors were all aware of the horrible smells in the portables, but nothing was being done to correct it. I was in that room from 2018 to 2021.

“By 2020, I had become really sick. I had a hard time holding things, I was weak, my walking had become a problem, I had horrible brain fog, and my eye had started to twitch all the time. I went to a doctor who thought I had MS; however, after running many expensive tests we finally found the cause in February of 2021: I had high levels of mold toxicity that had caused my body to be in constant fight-or-flight mode since I’d moved into the portable. This mold toxicity caused my adrenal glands to stop working. It took me doing a mold inspection on my house, which cost over $1,000, to determine it was more than likely work-related.

“I went to our administration, who were very concerned and involved. They called in the District, who did a mold inspection and remediation of my classroom. They thought this fixed the issue, but a few weeks after I moved back into my portable, I found a large amount of mold in the bathroom, which required them to remove the floors and toilet. I was then moved to the building because being in portables for any amount of time irritates my condition and makes me feel extremely ill.

“Due to all of this exposure, I have paid thousands of dollars for doctors, medical tests, and medication. My adrenal glands will not work again, and I will be on at least four different meds for the rest of my life, which are costly. Due to my exposure, I now also have a very weak immune system that requires medication for any type of procedure or dental work, as well as an autoimmune disease that I never had prior to being in the portables. My life will never be the same all because I was in an unhealthy environment.”

Alachua Chronicle obtained a lab report dated February 20, 2021, in which EMSL Analytical, Inc. performed an analysis of “Fungal Spores and Particulates” for a company called GLE Associates. GLE Associates is the company hired by the District to conduct air samples of the portable classroom referenced in Teacher A’s account. 

This lab report can be seen below. It shows a variety of spore types detected within the exterior and interior of the portable classroom in question, including Stachybotrys, a highly toxic mold also known as black mold; and Basidiospores, a species of mold that can develop in appliances, walls, carpets, sinks, heaters, attics, or basements and can be characterized by discolored floor tiles with a musty smell or wood rot. If inhaled in significant amounts, both spore types can cause serious health issues. 

Health concerns from mold exposure

There are generally three specific reactions to mold exposure: allergic response, pathogenic response, and toxigenic response. An allergic response may present in the following ways:

• Congestion 
• Rash
• Itchy or watery eyes 
• Difficulty breathing or swallowing
• Swelling
• Abdominal pain or cramps
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Dizziness or mental confusion

A pathogenic response may present as:

• Skin infection, nail infection or athlete’s foot
• Subcutaneous, where an infection can develop under the skin
• Systemic, where the mold attacks the kidneys, lungs, liver, or other organs

 A toxigenic reaction to mold may manifest as:

• Mucous membrane irritation
• Skin rash
• Fever
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Suppressed or weakened immune system
• Acute/chronic liver damage
• Acute/chronic central nervous system disorders
• Hormone disorders
• Cancer

In an email correspondence dated February 22, 2021, between Paul Zak of GLE Associates and ACPS Director of Maintenance Johnny Sanders, Zak wrote, “Attached are the air sample results from Newberry Elementary. Generally speaking they are fine, although the one spore of Stachy is interesting. I’m assuming that the discoloration behind the linoleum was the source.”

Response from Alachua County Public Schools

In a response to our request for comment regarding reports of mold or roach/rodent droppings found inside the portables at Newberry Elementary, Johnson told us that testing done by an outside company concluded that no mold was found. 

“About three years ago, … a teacher did express concerns about a particular portable, saying she was experiencing health issues. The portable was tested by an outside company, which found no mold and no air quality issues. During a meeting with the teacher to share the results, the teacher still expressed concerns, and so the portable was removed from service as a classroom and is only used for storage. Again, no mold and no air quality issues were found in that portable,” Johnson said.

In a separate email, Johnson told us, “On the mold, I can tell you that in the past three years, Maintenance has had indoor air quality/mold assessments done ten times in 8 different portables in response to concerns about air quality or possible mold. In two cases there was water damage which was addressed, but the company found no bio amplification (mold growth) in the classrooms. No water damage or mold growth was found in any of the other classrooms.”

A public records request was made to obtain work orders relating to mold and roach/rodent droppings, along with the results of any work performed, which would include the types of tests performed and how thorough those tests were throughout the portable classroom (some teachers expressed concern that the testing methods and locations of those tests within the classrooms were not sufficient). At the time of publication, the request had not been fulfilled. [Editor’s note: the day after this article was published, Alachua County Public Schools sent Alachua Chronicle an email, asking us to pay $497.79 before they proceed to fulfill our request for “Work orders, maintenance orders and complaints related to mold, roach droppings, rat or rodent droppings in portable buildings at Newberry Elementary School, dated 2022-present.”]

Teacher B (Newberry Elementary):

“When I first heard the term ‘cottages’ used for the portables on our campus, I looked up the definition.  My experience with portables did not equate to the word ‘cottage.’ The dictionary definition is ‘a small simple house, typically near a lake or beach’ or ‘a dwelling that is used by a worker as part of a farm establishment.’ Although ‘dwelling used by a worker” applies, there was no mention of housing children for 180 school days,… bringing me to the biggest reason for addressing any misconception about teaching hundreds of children in portables. It’s one thing when I have to experience discomfort, inconvenience, and/or safety or health concerns when I work, but it’s an entirely different thing when children – the very people for whom a school exists in the first place – are affected. They deserve more than a broken, reactive approach to maintenance for their learning environment.

“I have taught in two different styles of portables, and that experience has changed me. I have learned to be outspoken, persistent, and, at times, bold enough to take matters into my own hands out of sheer frustration. The negligence and lack of attention to attending to these buildings in a proactive way is beyond belief.

“Portable life, for me, has included all of the following unwanted, unsafe, and sometimes bizarre experiences. These examples have been documented through work orders, emails, medical records, and FL Pest communication. For the record, when I refer to ‘maintenance,’ I am speaking of off-site personnel.

“A sudden onset of allergies for the first time in my life happened after moving into a ‘newer’ ‘stackable’ 5 years ago. Simple testing indicated a reaction to dust and cockroach feces – I didn’t get more testing for fear of what else was triggering burning, itchy eyes; postnasal drip; an irritated throat; and a runny nose in a room that smelled awful. Everything stored anywhere in my room had cockroach feces in, on, and through it. I take allergy medicine only during the school year because my symptoms return with a vengeance. I’ve always wondered about kids who tell me their allergies are acting up…

“A week of dead animal smell in the ceiling – even for ‘Meet the Teacher’ – happened one year. Four months of rat urine and feces on my desk and papers, as well as those of my students. I reported it repeatedly and cleaned it up every morning. I was told the two traps in the ceiling were all they could do. Several dead rats were removed, but the problem persisted. Sanitation was uppermost in my mind when I finally bought and used rat poison over winter break, checking for dead bodies daily. I resolved the problem myself. I am still appalled that my children and I were exposed to that filth.

“An emergency exit window that doesn’t open? Mine did not. Three unsuccessful maintenance attempts proved useless. My students understood that if an emergency situation were to arise and we had to exit through the window, I would break it with my hammer, use the blanket to protect them from being cut, and help them out. Even they didn’t understand why no one could fix the window.

“A toilet that doesn’t work to flush contents down seemed like an easy fix. Each repair person had their own version of what was wrong. Finally, after almost a year of having to intermittently send kids next door to the bathroom, the toilet was replaced, and the new toilet worked like a charm.

“Thermostat problems with heating and air for multiple years is more than frustrating. Many issues surrounding room temperature and humidity have plagued my portable life. For example, the time when, on the first day of preplanning, my room was 98 degrees and the fan was blowing hot air. This year, when the county ‘locked’ the thermostat on specific temps, my pleas to turn the heat down went unheeded. Many weeks of googling and removing the ‘lock’ myself resulted in a reprimand by the person who managed it. I tried to explain that turning it down would actually save money, but it was not to be. And now, towards the end of three years with on-and-off 80%+ humidity and a suffocating lack of air movement, repeated identical work orders have failed to produce results. Yesterday, it was 86% humidity in the classroom at 10:15 a.m. while it was only 70% humidity outside. It is a chronic problem, and I just keep taking pictures of the thermostat.

“A door lock that required endless minutes to jiggle, twist, turn, and coerce to get the key to work (or get a custodian when the key sometimes got stuck) and being frustrated before my day even began. After many visits, maintenance told me the [District] would only get a locksmith if the lock didn’t work at all and the door couldn’t be opened. I wondered what I would do in an emergency if I had to get the kids quickly into the room.

“Leaking roof for two years – ceiling tiles replaced the first year, then again the next year, and, finally, a leaking roof fixed. Maintenance said if the ceiling tiles got wet again, ‘Don’t worry, it’s just condensation dripping from the air conditioning.’ I worry about mold and allergies and children and me.

“During the first COVID year, old soap dispensers were removed from the classroom, and one new one was put by the sink outside the bathroom. So, no soap in the bathroom and a sanitation concern. I bought hand soap while repeatedly asking for another dispenser. After months, I googled how to get the one I had off the wall (it requires a ‘key’) and moved it myself into the bathroom.

“I stepped through a rotten floorboard on the ramp and have on-going problems of random rotting boards, slats coming loose, and exposed rusty nails that catch the clothes and skin of children. One year, the huge, heavy metal railing fell off when the screws came out of rotten wood. Paint doesn’t stay on boards longer than a few months. In portable life, it’s my responsibility to inspect and report these things.

“An automatic faucet was wasting hundreds of gallons of water and money when it intermittently stuck for several months, while I was told, ‘Since it didn’t happen all the time,’ it ‘can’t be fixed.’ I took videos to prove my claim. Finally, maintenance turned the water pressure down to keep the floor dry.

“Ladybug invasion! Last year, there were hundreds of ladybugs crawling all over everything in the room – us, the walls, in the lights, in kids’ folders, in my files, on the windows, on tables and chairs – literally everywhere. After repeated requests, I was told nothing could be done. Some students were afraid of the bugs and were constantly jumpy; others couldn’t concentrate because they were constantly having to pick them off themselves and their work area. It is unreasonable to teach with that kind of disruption to instruction. There are ladybugs emerging even as I write this.

“No one would choose to work under these conditions. When I review this summary, I’m surprised by my tolerance. It is a testament to my dedication to my profession and the love I have for the students, families, teachers, staff, and the Newberry community.”

Teacher C (Newberry Elementary):

“Mold. There’s currently a portable sitting on our campus that is used for storage because it’s infested with mold. All furniture that we need is stored in there. How is that safe? I assume the [District] still pays for it? Have the rooms that are next to it been checked?

“The rooms are not inspected unless a teacher complains, and then the [District] sends out a person to take samples. No one knows this unless you go asking. Three years ago, I complained for months about my humidity and chronic sicknesses, and when my air was finally checked, it turned out the entire system needed to be replaced. No one checks from the [District].”

Teacher D (Newberry Elementary):

“When I first had to move out into the portables, we were told they were ‘brand new and nice!’ Well, that only meant they were ‘brand new’ to us. They shipped them over to us from Duval County, I believe. I don’t know how many years they were used in Duval, but they were certainly not well taken care of.

“I set out to clean it up before moving anything in. The walls were very dirty, and no amount of scrubbing would get off all of the dirt, grime, and stains. I ended up having to buy a mural that would line the walls almost all the way around the perimeter of the room. I know of other teachers that spent a lot of money to paint their walls because they couldn’t get them clean. The floors are very cracked and filthy. One crack extends from the door of the portable, all the way across the room to the opposite wall. Who knows when this will finally break off. The temperature is either too hot, or too cold, because the thermostat is locked so that teachers can’t adjust it. These portables are not well-sealed. There are cracks and holes around the doors, windows, and ceilings. These cracks and holes let all sorts of awful roaches, spiders, and what-have-you in. Aside from the obvious lack of space, these are some of the problems that teachers and students deal with on a daily basis when trying to teach and learn in a portable classroom.”

Teacher E (Newberry High):

“My classroom: I’ve been in my classroom for two years – in those two years I’ve had at least four instances where the roof tiles fell in, even though our on-campus maintenance tried to patch things up as best they could. After a heavy rain, there would be a stain from sitting water above students’ heads until it would leak through. At one point when the tiles fell in, an entire colony of ants also fell through the ceiling, having been attracted to the water. They patched it and took ceiling tiles from my office to replace the tiles in my classroom. Those tiles in my office have yet to be replaced. 

“The A/C unit would often break, and it seemed to coincide with the rain and leaking. The coolant would break and blow hot air into the room. My classroom has no windows and no ventilation, so it could be 80 degrees in a matter of minutes during our hot months.”