I too worked at the High School and everything that Rosemary said in her letter is true and so sad. The taxpayers of East Providence should go into the school and see for themselves the deplorable conditions of the high school. Something has to be done soon before they have to close it. Then what happens to the 2000 students where do they go for their education.

I graduated 17 years ago from EPHS. I currently have a senior in the school and next year my youngest will be a freshman. When I was a student it was old and outdated, but it wasn't this deplorable. When we attend meet the teacher nights every year I swear the scenery gets worse and worse. Floor tiles or ceiling tiles missing., some rooms are so cold, the paint peeling off the walls etc. The only nice part is the new wing, which obviously wasn't there when I went to school. So when you have a child that has a class in the new wing it's refreshing and clean then you go to the next class and it's a dump.
I've lived in EP my whole life and we did purchase a home in Riverside. I wanted my children to attend the same schools that my husband and I did (also a former Townie). To get the same education that we did. Now I wonder why we did?
Economic times are tough now, but years ago what was the excuse? Why wasn't it kept up properly? Right now the city/school department cannot do anything because the amount of debt the city is in. It's a shame!

Perhaps it comes down to making calls to the Dept. of Health, State Fire Marshall's office (fire alarm system) and perhaps the State Building Code enforcement officer. Perhaps that state police major (the overseer) should take a walk through the school and let him make an assessment. Perhaps a call to the DOE - Deb Gist is in order as well. Absolutely, the administration MUST provide a safe, clean, and healthy learning environment for these students and the staff. I would also ask where the hell the teacher union is with this if they are "so concerned" about their students and well being. The city needs to step up and get this situation under control quickly. I am sure RIDE would exercise their emergency powers and allocate these students to other area high schools if this facility had to close down. It would be a major disruption in their high school experience but safety has to be the number one consideration. Those in charge of this facility should be held responsible for this inaction.

If the taxpayers didn't have to foot the bill for these over blown union contracts, along with all their benifits, maybe we could have kept up with these buildings, but no, let the greed of the city unions increase pays and benifits of it's members. 29 years ago the teachers in Ma. were already paying 25% into the healthcare, they saw the writing on the wall back then. Our teachers, police, fire, and dpw workers cried when they had to pay just over 5%. Times have changed and it time for these unions to change.

I graduated from the high school in 1982 and currently have a junior there. I am so amazed how nothing...and I mean nothing except a new wing has changed. The walls are the same horrible puke colored tiles. Everything in there needs to be replaced. The air quality and smells are brutal. I have also always been amazed that no one ever fought to get a new high school, after all we are the BIGGEST high school in the state sadly with the most deplorable conditions. I for one hope that the school does get shut down and then maybe someone will take notice. Too bad no one listened to Mr. Quattrucci when he made light of all of these problems years ago - but instead they let him go and brush this all under the rug and why not their kids are probably all at a private school in the state! I do blame this on the past school committee's and the Union. There priorites have for years now been only on themselves and never about the kids. Maybe they should have to report there M-F 7:25-1:50 each day and sit in these conditions. This is where Federal stimulus money should be going. If we only had people in authority to fight for the KIDS! So Sad!

I say we call Ty Pennington and do an "Extreme Makeover" on EP Schools. Not only is EP bad, but the middle schools and the elementary school I live behind is deplorable too. I think it would be a novel idea.

I'm a parent of an EPHS student. I was not brought up here, so my first time was for a tour of the school and was not impresses with how the school looked. I got mor concerned when I went to meet the teachers and went into classrooms that had holes in the walls and everything seemed very dirty. Now I have learned about this Asbestos being in the school that children attend I am horrified. I am a person that has lost my father to this horrible disease and do not wish to lose a son to it either. This needs to be taken care of. I received a call from the school department saying this is a rumor and everything ia going to be fine. They better be right or they are going to have big problems on their hands.

The school system has exposed a number of teachers and students to asbestos, which can cause mesothelioma, malignant lung cancer and asbestosis later in life. It also exposes the city to great liability and you can bet the ambulance lawyers are recording this stuff in their files for future lawsuits!!

Mesotheliomas have been observed in people who were occupationally exposed to chrysotile, family members of the occupationally exposed, and residents who lived close to asbestos factories and mines. According to the NCI, "A history of asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70 percent to 80 percent of all cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos. The most common diseases associated with chronic exposure to asbestos include: asbestosis and pleural abnormalities (mesothelioma, lung cancer).
Health Dept. letter: "City officials have no plan to ensure the high school will be in compliance within the foreseeable future".
Are they kidding me? Unless the city fathers get their collective butts moving, the high school can be shut down indefinitely until they do. Perhaps the city officials need to take a course in asbestos abatement! Perhaps they should also read the OSHA guidelines, which the city is required to follow!! This is not to be ignored!!

In 1942, an internal Owens-Corning corporate memo referred to "medical literature on asbestosis… scores of publications in which the lung and skin hazards of asbestos are discussed."
Testimony given in a federal court in 1984 by Charles H. Roemer, formerly an employee of Unarco, described a meeting in the early 1940s between Unarco officials, J-M President Lewis H. Brown and J-M attorney Vandiver Brown. Roemer stated, "I’ll never forget, I turned to Mr. Brown, one of the Browns made this crack (that Unarco managers were a bunch of fools for notifying employees who had asbestosis), and I said, ‘Mr. Brown, do you mean to tell me you would let them work until they dropped dead?’ He said, ‘Yes. We save a lot of money that way.'" In 1944, a Metropolitan Life Insurance Company report found 42 cases of asbestosis among 195 asbestos miners.

In 1951, asbestos companies removed all references to cancer before allowing publication of research they sponsored.
In 1952, Dr. Kenneth Smith, Johns-Manville medical director, recommended (unsuccessfully) that warning labels be attached to products containing asbestos. Later, Smith testified: "It was a business decision as far as I could understand… the corporation is in business to provide jobs for people and make money for stockholders and they had to take into consideration the effects of everything they did and if the application of a caution label identifying a product as hazardous would cut into sales, there would be serious financial implications."
In 1953, National Gypsum's safety director wrote to the Indiana Division of Industrial Hygiene, recommending that acoustic plaster mixers wear respirators "because of the asbestos used in the product." Another company official noted that the letter was "full of dynamite" and urged that it be retrieved before reaching its destination. A memo in the files noted that the company "succeeded in stopping" the letter, which "will be modified."

The current East Providence High School opened its doors in 1952 - as you can see, this school was subject to the installation of the asbestos materials. The city doesn't need a new high school, it needs to clean this one up and any others that have this problem.

Last night we received a city wide EP Schools phone call from Ed Daft...he was essentially doing Damage Control. He stated that "NO ONE HAS SUGGESTED CLOSING THE SCHOOL" it was a rumor....well Ed the REPORT was quoted
"If air testing results show unsafe conditions, the school will need to remain closed until repairs are made and air testing results pass clearance standards," says the report, which was written after an October inspection."
OK so whose lying / covering up??? Also now when I see the commercial for the Law Firms asking about loved ones being Diagnosed with Mesothilioma well looks like we may need to write there phone number down!.....the city is in a sad state of affairs Vermont is looking alot better everyday!

Dont forget....

It's all about the kids!

Who was going to place the advertisemnts at the schools ?
Abestos removal firms, lawyers for mesothelioma ?

The political spin has begun - WPRI is reporting," Days after writing a letter to the EPSC raising serious concerns about asbestos at EPHS, the RI Health Department said the school is safe and the chances of it being shut down are unlikely." How can they make that statement without doing the test first? The school committee chair is stating, "there is a plan, but the biggest piece is the financing." Perhaps these people on the committee need to have a health expert explain what mesothelioma is and also ask how many teachers and staff have become ill with pulmonary fibrosis.

I worked for EPSD and had to literally send in the shirt off my back to find out I was working with asbestoes

John, unless you were trained on handling asbestoes materials, you had to wear a mask and have a suit on. If not, you need to get checked out by a pulmonary specialist. Ths is serious stuff and you simply can't ignore it.

With the mold situation as bad as some of this posters are indicating, perhaps the maintenance crew should discover what bleach does!
Molds are small organisms found almost everywhere, inside and outside, including on plants, foods and dry leaves. Molds are beneficial to the environment and are needed to break down dead material. Very tiny and lightweight, mold spores travel easily through the air. When molds are present in large numbers, they may cause allergic symptoms similar to those caused by plant pollen.

People who live or work in buildings that are exposed to moisture and not adequately ventilated are more at risk of illnesses causes by mold. Populations at particular risk include: infants and children, elderly persons, immune compromised patients and people with existing respiratory conditions, such as allergies and asthma.
Testing for molds is very difficult and expensive and cannot determine whether health effects will occur. Mold is normally found outdoors and counts fluctuate from day to day depending on the season. Due to the uncertainties associated with testing for molds, it is not recommended in most cases. If you can see or smell mold it needs to be cleaned up.Sources of moisture may include; flooding, damp basement or crawl space, leaky roof, leaky plumbing, humidifiers, poorly ventilated areas, and/or clothes dryer vented indoors.
If you can see or smell mold, it is present and must be cleaned up. You also need to fix the problem causing the mold to prevent it from growing again. It is important to make sure that sources of moisture are eliminated before mold is cleaned up. If this is not done, the mold will grow again. If an area of mold growth is larger than 10 square feet (3 feet x 3 feet), it is recommended that a contractor with experience in mold remediation clean up the area.

THIS WILL NOW MAKE IT VERY HARD TO GET THE NECESSARY FUNDING TO KEEP THIS SCHOOL OPEN. A 3 NOTCHE DROP WILL RAISE DEBT SERVICE GREATLY.
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Moody's Investors Service on Monday downgraded the city of East Providence three notches to a rating commonly referred to as "junk-bond status," the city's second downgrade in less than six months. And Moody's warns it is reviewing East Providence for further downgrade.

In May 2010, East Providence held a rating of A1, with a negative outlook, meaning a downgrade was likely within a year or two.

In August 2011, Moody's dropped that three notches to Baa1 with a negative outlook.

On Nov. 14, Moody's placed East Providence on review for possible downgrade, a process that typically takes about 90 days.

But Monday, only 28 days later, it dropped the rating to Ba1 with a negative outlook and continuing review

I was a volunteer in the CTC building for 9 years. When I started asking questions about the deplorable conditions in the main building I was kicked to the curb (so to speak) and told to get out by the CTC director. The principal has been questioned by a number of students concerning the conditions that prevail in the building and her answer to them was to furiously "shut down" and storm away. Makes me wonder what she and the CTC director are trying to hide. Two more administrators that need to be replaced is my answer.

Mike, when the air quality is tested during the winter vacation, that will be the forebearer of either good or bad news. There are external forces at play in that building and unfortunately, are not working for the student best interests. Anyone connected in city government have probably been given the gag order. News will be harder to get with the commission in place - the locals don't want to rock the boat.

We are in trying times and things will continue to get tighter.