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School District Turns Away Inspectors Hired by Detroit Teachers Union

Officials from Detroit's teachers union blasted Detroit Public Schools on Wednesday after the district blocked the union's environmental experts from investigating possible mold growth, water damage and other problems inside nine schools.

By Ann Zaniewski

Officials from Detroit's teachers union blasted Detroit Public Schools on Wednesday after the district blocked the union's environmental experts from investigating possible mold growth, water damage and other problems inside nine schools.

"Our members are demanding that we give them specific answers as to what's going on in their schools," Ivy Bailey, interim president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said at a news conference outside Spain-Elementary Middle School.

The DFT has asked a judge to force the district to give inspectors access, union attorney Robert Fetter said.

A spokeswoman for DPS said the union did not provide it with enough advance notice. She also said allowing the inspectors inside could complicate the district's efforts to make building repairs.

The union and its parent group, the American Federation of Teachers, brought industrial hygienists from New York, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut to Detroit to identify health and safety problems in buildings.

The poor conditions of aging Detroit schools have been in the spotlight in recent weeks, with teachers staging mass sick-outs to call attention to the problem. The DFT sued DPS last week in Wayne County Circuit Court, saying the conditions are hazardous to students' health.

The sick-outs closed dozens of schools last month. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, after touring a handful of schools, order the city inspections. So far, inspectors have visited more than three dozen schools, noting problems such as rodents and busted ceiling tiles.

They found 16 violations just at Spain. A health inspector wrote, "Mold growing under wood flooring in the gym, with possible diffusion of mold spores throughout the building was observed."

Bailey and other union officials praised the city's efforts. But Bailey said the DFT wants to conduct its own tests to figure out, for example, the exact type of mold inside Spain and whether it's dangerous to teachers and students.

The American Federation of Teachers, the DFT's parent group, brought in three teams of environmental experts to inspect nine schools Wednesday and Thursday. Armed with cameras, they were prepared to snap photos, test for water leaks and take mold samples.

They planned to visit Spain, Thirkell Elementary-Middle, Mann Elementary, Carleton Elementary, Detroit International Academy, Dossin Elementary-Middle, Gardner Elementary, Noble Elementary-Middle and Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy. But an attorney for DPS told the union no.

District officials say they're working to address building maintenance issues.

"Detroit Public Schools has been, and will continue to work closely with the City of Detroit, which has regulatory jurisdiction over the District's 97 school buildings as it relates to compliance with property maintenance and safety regulations," DPS spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski said in an e-mail. "The AFT/DFT has access to the inspection reports completed by the city.

"Additional teams of people in the school buildings complicate the District's efforts to fully comply with state and local regulations. Further, the DFT/AFT were seeking to have teams of unknown individuals come into our school buildings without proper or reasonable prior notice to administration and staff."

Fetter said banning the inspectors violates state labor law and the DFT contract. He filed an emergency motion late today in circuit court to force DPS to permit the inspections.

The DFT is distributing surveys to school employees to collect information about building problems.

Spain teacher WaSeana Ballard said that in the last six months, it seems like more students are coming down with headaches and respiratory problems.

"We just want to make sure our school stays (open), and is safe," she said.

After the news conference, a preschool teacher stepped outside to show reporters a sample of water taken from the sink in her classroom. She held an 8-ounce, partially filled plastic water bottle with several mysterious greenish-black specks settled on the bottom.

(c)2016 the Detroit Free Press

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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