KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Einstein Academy officials are hosting a meeting for parents, days after reports of asbestos found at the elementary school’s Valencia site on Orchard Village Road circulated online, according to a letter sent out from school officials obtained by KHTS AM-1220.
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The meeting is for parents of Albert Einstein Academy for the Letters, Arts and Sciences students, according to school officials who declined to respond to a request for comment, but invited KHTS AM-1220 to the private meeting.
KHTS AM-1220 plans to cover the meeting and report on it.
An official confirmed the meeting Wednesday would take place at the high school site operated by AEALAS on Kelly Johnson Parkway, but the construction work did not concern the high school.
“Please join us for an informational meeting this Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM at the AEA High School to discuss the repairs being made to our SCV campus,” according to the letter. “At this meeting we will review what caused the damage, our plan for repairs and health and safety concerns. A panel of experts, including an asbestos inspector, physicians and our admin team will be present to review test results and safety concerns.”
Several parents contacted KHTS AM-1220 with concerns about the existence of asbestos and the notification.
An official with the Air Quality Management District said Tuesday the agency was notified about construction at the school that involved asbestos removal, but said a plan presented by school officials was deemed in compliance with state and federal standards for such a project.
The maintenance was scheduled to take place between Dec. 24 and Jan. 9, according to AQMD officials. Eight classrooms were affected by the cleanup effort, according to AQMD officials.
“The ceiling fell down (from the rain), they called in a consultant and they identified that there was asbestos debris,” said David Jones, senior compliance supervisor with the AQMD. “In order to clean that up, they need to file a plan and notify the district.”
Mohsen Nazemi, deputy executive officer for the AQMD, said for buildings built in the 70s and earlier, it was fairly common to have asbestos in the acoustic ceiling tiles, but it did not mean there was exposurefor children.
In this case, rain damage increased a potential for exposure, which is why the removal and notification were conducted, Nazemi said.
“We reviewed their plan and found that it was adequate for protecting the environment,” Nazemi said. “They followed all the proper procedures with us.”
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8 Classrooms? Yet of those 8 classrooms not all of the parents were notified or invited to their first parent meeting back in Dec. I think only parents of 3 of those classrooms got notifications. Those who have just found out their childs classrooms had problems were not told nor given any instruction on how to handle their childs clothing or supplies. Since then all those items have been brought home and introduced into the family wash and could have potentially put us all at risk. Still have not been given any instructions to date. They want us to wait for a town meeting to do so? Every moment counts. Why weren’t all the parents informed school wide? So what do the rest of us do now? Such negligence.
My daughter was in a class who’s ceiling was leaking and pieces had been falling onto the floor since November! We were NOT included in the first meeting and still have since not been notified. That is exactly negligence. Her class was not included in the parent meeting! We just found out 4 days ago that there was asbestos and that her class was exposed and no cautions were taken as were with the other classes! Put yourself in our shoes, how would you feel then?
We’ve taken our own precautions and thrown everything away but it’s too late. It’s been in our house since November and we’ve run it through the wash.
Hello,
I’m interested in finding out the location of which classrooms this was found because my son attended Pinecrest preschool. I had concerns before about something being in the building because my son was sick with pneumonia twice and had breathing related health concerns from 2012 to 2014 before Pinecrest closed. Also, is there any way of finding out the last time the building was inspected?
Thank you,
Concerned Parent
I have to comment on the over reacting that is going on here. We live in a home that was built 30 years ago and had asbestos. When we remodeled the contractor told us that the only time there is exposure to the asbestos is when it is removed and the particles become airborne. So no you can’t have a problem with the room your child is in. Chill.
Thank you.
With all due respect there is no over Reaction.The asbestos was disturbed and testing showed contamination in the three classes that were tested. When water particles containing asbestos drive it becomes airborne again. our classroom was never tested even though leaking waspresent.
Three classrooms and a potential fourth, did test positive for asbestos. However, the amount of contamination found is minuscule. You are over reacting. Your child is more likely to break his arm on the playground then develop a health problem from the asbestos exposure. Wash the clothes and move on with your life. If not leave. Your aren’t forced to stay. Your complaining will do you no good. Admin did everything right. They followed all proper protocol . You should be thankful and grateful to have such a wonderful team advocating for the safety of your child. They saw a problem, and fixed it as soon as they could to save your child from harmful health issues. The meeting stated that ALL the classrooms were checked for asbestos and the ones that tested positive had the asbestos removed. Get your facts right.
The asbestos was compromised when the first set of rains cane and damaged the roof. The rooms began leaking and created airborne fibers once the water evaporated. Aea did not respond properly until someone ( not Aea) called OSHA. Once they were called in Aea had to bring in experts to do testing. This is when they found out the two rooms they say had obvious damage tested positive for airborne fibers. At this point those parents of those two rooms were notified on 12/16. They had not done testing on any other rooms at this point. However, Aea failed to follow proper protocol by not informing all patents. Aea is now saying this parent is trying to cause panic. Simply untrue! We are raising awareness and hosting them accountable!
I was present in that first meeting. They screwed up, and did not even have a management plan which should have been in place for this school since 1986. They said they never had an inspection done since they were leasing it; all they did was a walk through. If it wasn’t for a parent calling I don’t think it would have ever come to anyone’s attention which is what really bothers me.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2009-title15/html/USCODE-2009-title15-chap53-subchapII.htm
If you’re concerned for your child and family’s health from asbestos exposure, get your kids out of that school. There’s no one holding you there. If you show up at your neighborhood public elementary school tomorrow they have to place your children in one of their schools.
Numerous issues covered in the press suggest that school may be at risk of being shut down, even if only temporarily. We have excellent schools in the SCV.Why subject your children to an unstable situation if you don’t need to? If it’s that important to you, when AES resolves their issues you can go back. The welfare of the children should be the highest priority.