Westwood district closed an elementary school 'out of an abundance of caution.' Here's why
Washington Elementary School reopened to staff and students on Thursday after air quality and mold tests come back within normal limits, relieving concerns about an odor detected earlier this week.
Westwood Regional School District Superintendent Jill Mortimer said she is “confident that our school is safe for our students and staff," after receiving the results from the Northwest Bergen Department of Health and the Bergen County Hazmat Team. The hazmat unit had tested for mold, asbestos and volatile organic compounds.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding and can’t wait to see everyone back tomorrow!” Mortimer said in a message sent to parents Wednesday evening.
A Bergen County hazmat unit was called to the Washington Township school “out of an abundance of caution” on Tuesday after two teachers noticed an odor in a classroom that seemed to come from a heating unit, said a notice from the Washington Township Police Department. Classes in that room were relocated before the emergency early dismissal at 12:50 p.m. on Tuesday. The school stayed closed on Wednesday as the district awaited results.
The district conducted an emergency $88,000 asbestos abatement at the school over the weekend as part of repairs to a broken sewer pipe in the building's pipe chase tunnels. But students and staff were never exposed, as the pipes previously wrapped with asbestos-containing material are under concrete, Mortimer said in a letter to the community.
Air quality testing after the abatement met the Environmental Protection Agency’s requirements before students and staff were allowed to return this week, Mortimer said.
“Asbestos removal is highly regulated by the state, and we are in full compliance with all necessary mandates,” she added in the letter.
During a Tuesday night Board of Education meeting, board President Michael Pontillo reported that experts said the smell came from “insulating sprayer and encapsulating foam” that was used in the building during the abatement work the week before.
The district had already planned to address the asbestos next year, but the timeline was moved up after the plumbing emergency was discovered, Pontillo said. The abatement was done on Nov. 9 and 10, when the district was already closed for the state teachers' convention.
“It’s an unfortunate thing for buildings that are older, but let’s face the reality that mechanical things break, and sometimes they do it at the worst possible moment,” Pontillo said.
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A few parents in the audience for Tuesday's school board meeting complained about the short notice of the emergency early dismissal on Tuesday and said sewage problems at the school were apparent well before last week’s emergency.
“I know plenty of people who had to arrange for a family member to leave their job or have a friend pick up a child and arrange for an emergency pickup,” said Dale Grossman. “That is unfair and uncalled for and unnecessary stress upon parents.”
Mortimer said the early dismissal was done to avoid alarming students and staff about the hazmat testing and that the district wanted to get everyone out of the building.
“I’m sorry that there was short notice, but the children were safe and were kept at a safe place if the parents weren’t able to arrive right away to pick them up,” Mortimer said.
She said one teacher reported feeling ill, and that although she could not get into specifics because employees have a right to privacy, the teacher was “OK.”
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The situation appeared to unearth some lingering tension between the superintendent and the school board.
Near the end of the meeting, trustee Doug Cusato asked if the school board could look at “lessons learned” from the situation and “look back and see if we followed all those protocols and processes on early dismissal.”
Pontillo responded that discussing that could be “employee issues,” which in turn could be considered an evaluation of the superintendent, and that’s not what the school board does in public.
Mortimer later responded that Cusato's comments were a violation of school ethics rules, since school board members are not allowed to publicly evaluate the superintendent.
“This is about the fourth time this has happened,” Mortimer said. “Board members have heard from my personal attorney. ... I’m not going to sit here and be quiet and take it. You need to know your role and act accordingly.”
Cusato said he “by no means” meant that an employee did something wrong. “It seemed like a stressful situation," he added, and he wanted to know "if there was anything to learn from it.” Mortimer responded that asking “if we followed all those protocols and procedures” suggested that she or her administrators did not follow protocol.
Stephanie Noda is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: noda@northjersey.com
Twitter: @snoda11
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Westwood NJ district closes school after strange odor
