NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. by: John Gerow (RVO) – The directors of the Redbank Valley School Board held a special meeting last evening, July 25 at the elementary school building in New Bethlehem. The meeting allowed the Directors to see first-hand the damage to the building and the cleanup and restoration efforts that are currently underway, and to bring them up to speed on the next phases of the project. Superintendent John Mastillo told the assembled directors that he and the district’s maintenance crew have been working since last Saturday morning. Working closely with the professional restoration service, ServicePro, the District’s crew has made tremendous progress since the flood. This special meeting was held in the elementary school’s auditorium/cafeteria which was almost full to the brim with classroom supplies that are clean and ready to returned to classrooms.

Dr. Mastillo Addresses the School Board Special Meeting at the Elementary School

Dr. Mastillo opened the meeting by saying that he has been calling everyone that might be able to assist the District in getting the elementary school up and running. Among the resources that he has tapped are insurance companies and the State Department of Education. He has also been in discussions with the County Emergency Management office and with Ed Goth, New Bethlehem Borough’s Emergency Management Coordinator to see if the County’s Emergency Declaration may provide some relief as well. If nothing else, the Emergency Declaration will streamline purchasing repairs and replacement items. The Superintendent said that he is going to look for any and all sources of funding for the cleanup and restoration.

The district does not have flood insurance on the Vine Street school buildings. In discussing the lack of flood insurance, there was confusion among the Directors as to why they had not secured that protection. Directors had differing memories and understanding of previous discussions about flood insurance for the elementary school, apparently, previous administrations had not provided clear and correct information to the school board at the time. Dr. Mastillo said that there may be some funding available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This funding will be contingent upon the dollar amount of damage to district property and contents of the school. If estimated losses reach $500,000 in either category, the district may be eligible for assistance from the NFIP.

How well the cleanup effort is going can be measured by the fact that Dr. Mastillo said that the cleanup crew will begin sanitizing classrooms on Friday, July 26^th. The plan is to begin restoring cleaned and sanitized chairs and desks to the classroom on the 26^th as well. The Superintendent said that he is “optimistic that the elementary school building will be ready for the first day of school.” He also told the Board that they (the Board) can delay the opening of school if they need to without causing issues with the state Department of Education.

While there is little structural damage to the elementary school building, the major concern, besides mud left behind from the flood, is mold. The cleanup and sanitation will focus on mold removal and remediation. Dr. Mastillo said that the ServicePro people have been testing the air in the building for humidity. Mold cannot live in dry environments and the goal is to have the relative humidity in the building to be 25% or less. When the first tests were done earlier in the week, the humidity in the elementary building was 80%. Tests on Thursday were showing humidity levels lower than 30%, placing the 25% safe level well within reach. Once the building is completely dried out, maintaining humidity levels below 25% will not be a problem. Dr. Mastillo said that about 90% of the furnishing and supplies have been moved in the drying process.

Director Dee Bell asked if everything that had been touched by floodwater is being thrown out. Dr. Mastillo said that things that can be cleaned and sanitized will be and that soft materials that cannot be will be discarded. He said that damaged furniture that is made of pressboard will be destroyed, but that furnishings made of wood, can be cleaned, sanitized, and sealed before being reused. Mastillo explained that for right now, they are moving all water tainted furnishings out of the building and that cleaning, sealing, or replacing decisions will be made on an item by item basis once the building and contents are ready for the first day of school. Dr. Mastillo reminded the Board that it is not essential to replace every lost and damaged item before school opens. He said that they were focusing on the absolute essentials in order to hold classes on the first day.

Dr. Mastillo reported that there was no damage to any of the appliances in the cafeteria’s kitchen. The two walk-in freezer/refrigerators will have to be cleaned and sanitized but are not damaged. There is a water pre-heater on one of the wash sinks that will have to be tested to see if the heating element was damaged.

Board President Chad Shaffer questioned how much the district should spend on cleaning and restoration rather than simply replacing damaged materials. He also questioned if Dr. Mastillo had an early estimate of the dollar amount of loss to the district. Dr. Mastillo said that as of Thursday, he was only sure that there was about $16,000 loss of computers and other Instructional Technology. Dr. Shaffer also asked if the Board should be considering consolidating campuses, to which the Superintendent replied that consolidation should be a constant consideration, but that there was not enough information about final costs of cleanup and restoration of the existing building to justify trying to do a major overhaul of buildings before the end of August.

Following the meeting, Dr. Mastillo took the Directors on a tour of the building so that they could, first hand, see the damage and the cleanup efforts.

Cleaned furnishings and supplies ready to be put back in classrooms.

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ABOUT:
Redbank Valley School District provides education services for the 165 square mile area of New Bethlehem and Hawthorn boroughs, and the townships of Mahoning, Madison, Porter, and Redbank of both Clarion and Armstrong counties.

MEETINGS:
The Redbank Valley School Board meetings the first Monday of every month at 7pm at the High School Library.

CONTACT:
For more information about the Redbank Valley School District, please call 814.275.2426 or visit RedbankValley.org/pg/biz/redbank-valley-school-district