(LAKE ZURICH, IL)—
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local
1, a Chicago-based union, has been making
unsupported statements and spreading misleading
information via a flyer and a protest about the
current facility for May Whitney School, a facility
formerly known as the Annex; in one incident, even
approaching children who were trying to walk safely
home from school. Unfortunately for the parents and
community, the statements made in the flyer and by
the SEIU Local 1 protestors do not come close to
matching the facts about either May Whitney
Elementary School or Community Unit School District
95.
On Monday, April 7,
Chicago’s SEIU Local 1 dispatched more than 20
protestors to the Isaac Fox/Middle School South
school facility, where they disrupted the end of
school by shouting through bullhorns, chanting and
shaking containers full of rocks or other noise
making material, all while trying to hand out
propaganda flyers to young students who were trying
to safely cross busy Cuba Road.
Isaac Fox Principal
Jill Brooks, Middle School South Assistant Principal
Chad May, and Jim Jennings, Communications Director
for CUSD 95, kept a close watch over the
demonstration in order to ensure the safety of
students. They also directed the protestors, who
were trespassing on school district property, to
move their protest to the easement next to Cuba Road
and off school district property. Oddly, Chicago’s
SEIU Local 1 chose not to stage their protest in
front of May Whitney School, the subject of their
propaganda, but instead chose the Isaac Fox
Elementary School/Middle School South facility which
lies along heavily traveled Cuba Road.
"I understand they (SEIU
Local 1) are advocating for their cause," said Isaac
Fox Principal Jill Brooks. "However, to stand on our
sidewalk, right at the crosswalk, handing flyers to
children who were minding their own business and
trying to safely cross the street, was ridiculous
and created a potentially dangerous situation for
our children and their parents."
The propaganda flyer,
entitled: ‘New Information Surfaces on Potential
Mold Problems in "New May Whitney" Elementary
School’ cited testimony from Gustavo Gomez, an
Aramark custodian, who, at a March 27 legislative
hearing of the Illinois House of Representatives
Elementary and Secondary Education committee,
claimed to have found what he thought was mold while
cleaning the Annex building which now houses May
Whitney School.
The flyer quotes
Gomez’ as saying: "When I arrived at the building,
the first thing I noticed was a strong bad smell.
When I removed the tiles, I saw that they were very
old, and they were covered in what appeared to be
yellow and green mold."
Alleged Mold Never
Reported
Interestingly, while
the readying of the Annex for the staff and students
of May Whitney School took place in late August and
early September of 2007, the district has no record
of Gomez ever informing District 95 staff or its
administration of this alleged mold. In fact, the
district only learned about Gomez’ statement from
area news media reports well after the hearing had
concluded.
CUSD 95 can find
nothing to indicate that Gomez ever notified anyone
at the school or within the school district about
the alleged mold at the new May Whitney School
building. However, on March 21, Gomez did make the
same statement to Mary Kalou, Assistant
Superintendent of Business & Operations, of finding
yellow and green mold, but he stated that he found
it while working at the new Middle School North
(MSN) facility, not the Annex/May Whitney School
building. An examination of MSN showed no mold and
nothing that could substantiate the claim made by
Gomez.
"If Mr. Gomez, or any
employee had found something of concern, such as
mold, we would expect them to notify a supervisor or
district administrator or staff member immediately,"
said Jennings. "Since the preparation of the Annex
for occupancy by May Whitney School was done back in
August and September of 2007, it really makes me
question why someone would wait seven months or more
to bring this issue forward. And even when it was
brought forward to a school district administrator,
the alleged mold was said to have been found in a
completely different building than May Whitney
School."
Air quality sampling
of the Annex last fall, as well as in February and
as recently as March 21 show air quality levels
within the school to be well within the levels that
are safe and appropriate for a school.
"We are currently
waiting for a written report from Environ (the
company who conducted the March 21 testing)
providing the results of air and carpet sampling for
mold at May Whitney," said Kalou. "We have been
verbally told that results show no mold concerns at
May Whitney School."
Superintendent Dr.
Brian Knutson does not like the schools, staff,
children and families of CUSD 95 being used as a
political football by any person or group.
"Parents, their
children and staff members must be able to feel that
their schools are healthy learning environments,"
said Superintendent Dr. Brian Knutson. "Putting out
misleading and inaccurate information, as was done
by SEIU Local 1, serves only to undermine the trust
that our community has in our schools. That is not
fair to our children, their families, or our staff
members, who work diligently to keep our facilities
clean and our schools healthy, wonderful learning
environments. We have always been and always will be
committed to providing the best environment possible
for our students."
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