Remote learning to continue for middle/ high school students in Monessen

The school board awarded a contract Tuesday for mold remediation work.

There were no students at Monessen’s middle/high school building as classes began Tuesday because a mold problem is forcing them to learn remotely.

A few technical issues were reported for the first day of school as students in grades seven through 12 attended classes online.

“I would just like to thank the faculty and staff for the first day today,” Superintendent Dr. Robert Motte said at Tuesday’s school board meeting. “I thought everyone pitched in and helped out. We’re still tweaking with the remote instruction, and if there’s any issues with your technology, come to (the school board voting room).”

In a 6-2 vote, the board authorized Alliance Properties Group, LLC to handle mold remediation work at a cost of $330,446. Board members Cindy Pawelec and Doreen Smith voted no, and board member Marc Bellora was absent.

Establishing an emergency exception was also part of the repair authorization, allowing the school district to declare an emergency and providing to the board with proper paperwork so they can get quotes for the job, according to district solicitor Christina Lane.

The building is being designated under a state of emergency under Section 751 (a.2) of the public school code. Other bids were received from BMS CAT for $696,000 and Bactronix Corp. for $219,314.35, with Bactronix’s bid only remediating the mold and not completing the scope of work.

The full project includes remediating and removing the mold, determining that the air filtration is corrected and after they have finished work, giving clearance that the air is suitable for people to enter the building, Lane said. It also involves repairing the water damage source.

“They are required to ask for three responsible quotes,” Lane said. “They received two. The third party was not responsive to the work that they were seeking to correct the issue, so that one was rejected. They have two quotes that the board has considered.”

The board discussed three options for continued plans of instruction, and it was decided unanimously that students in the middle/high school conduct classes fully remotely until a portion of the building can be safely opened again.

Teacher Nicole Johnson asked the board to consider an option that included holding classes at the Monessen Civic Center and splitting the days of the week into group sessions.

The other option was to conduct classes at the Redstone/Colonial school building in Brownsville. Board members had safety concerns at both the other locations, along with concerns about athletics, staffing and transportation.

“Our students need that face-to-face instruction,” Johnson said. “Learning virtually is really hard for a lot of our kids in our district. I hope that you guys, when choosing what is going to go on, that you guys really take into consideration letter B.”

Pawelec suggested that since construction cannot start until all the mold is cleared out, they would be able to go back into a portion of the building and maybe get portable bathrooms.

She added that students can work hybrid when part of the building is opened up, and work remotely until a portion of the building is safe.

“Hopefully if it goes from a hazmat area to a construction area, then this way we can use a part of the building that’s safe,” Pawelec said. “A construction site is completely different from a hazard site, so why wouldn’t we do that? This way, we can be hybrid in our own building, and we don’t have to worry about any of this other stuff.”

The process is expected to take roughly two months, but they may be able to get students into a section of the school in a couple of weeks. Edward Szmed, the district’s director of facilities, said work will start Monday.

“It’s definitely a possibility to bring kids back in,” Szmed said. “Once we get into construction, the game plan will be, since we are winged off, try to get as much as possible so we can get kids back in. I will be working with (the company) daily, getting update reports and they will be in contact two times a week on the status of where the building is at. I wish I had never found (the mold).”

Szmed added that when the company goes in for remediation, it will test the air and surfaces to make sure everything is contained.

According to board member Sharon Mauck, none of the options are good, but they have to look at what is the most financially feasible for the district, and they have to make some sort of decision.

“I do not want to send our kids out of town,” Mauck said. “We don’t have great options here, and we are asking you folks to be part of the solution to that problem because this is the only sense we can make of this. Nobody in this room wanted this to happen. We are trying to make the best decisions we possibly can.”