04/06/08 - Now Betty "You Can Trust Me" Sternberg Wants An "Agreement" With Parents - How About Betty We Agree That You Should Leave Now?

In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice.
Then He made School Boards.
-- Mark Twain

First Betty "You Can Trust Me" Sternberg and the Board Of Education said that there would be independent testing.

Then Betty "You Can Trust Me" Sternberg and the Board Of Education said that there would not be independent testing.

Then Betty "You Can Trust Me" Sternberg and the Board Of Education said that the school parents could hire an expert to talk to thier supposed expert about how he did the test.

Then Betty "You Can Trust Me" Sternberg and the Board Of Education said that the parents could test, but they could not test where the mold was found.

Now Betty "You Can Trust Me Sternberg and the Board Of Education want an agreement with the school parents.

Does anyone in Greenwich Still Trust Betty And The Board Of Education?

Here is the supposed agreement the Greenwich Board Of Education offered the parents:

It Appears To Be A Little One Sided.

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AGREEMENT REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING

AT THE HAMILTON AVENUE MODULAR CLASSROOM BUILDING

WHEREAS, it has been determined that mold exists within a portion of the modular classroom building at Hamilton Avenue School; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Education has undertaken preliminary testing as a first step to determine the cause of said condition and the manner in which it might be corrected; and

WHEREAS, a group of parents, in particular _______________________________, (hereinafter referred to as “parents”) have requested the opportunity to perform their own air quality testing at the site; and

WHEREAS, in spite of the Board of Education’s willingness to share its testing results, the parents listed above still desire to perform their own independent testing; and

WHEREAS, in an effort to continue its policy of transparency, the Board of Education has agreed under conditions set out below to allow the parents mentioned above to perform certain tests.

IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

The parents will provide the name and the address of the organization and individual hygienist hired to perform the testing. Said individual must be a certified industrial hygienist or similarly qualified professional. The laboratory performing the analysis must be an AIHA accredited microbiology lab. Prior approval by the Board of Education of the professional is a necessary element of this agreement. Said approval will not be unreasonably withheld.

Any and all expenses incurred by the parents in conjunction with the testing process will be paid for exclusively by them.

Prior to the testing being conducted, the parents will identify the specific test(s) and testing procedures to be conducted.

Prior to any testing being performed, the parents will provide the Board of Education with what their expert considers acceptable standards or findings for this classroom facility for each test to be performed. Prior to testing, the Board of Education has the right to determine whether the standards are acceptable.

The only individuals allowed to be present during the testing in addition to representatives of the Board of Education will be the hygienist and one individual as a representative of the parents.

The Board of Education will identify its own certified industrial hygienist who will be performing equivalent testing procedures during the same period that the parents are present to conduct their testing. The cost of this additional testing will be borne by the Board of Education.

The testing will focus on and be limited to inhabitable portions of the building. In the event that the parents’ hygienist seeks access to those areas where mold is known to exist, (i.e. soffits, inside walls) then the Board of Education may insist on precautionary measures to limit contamination of the building. These precautionary measures will be established by representatives of the Board of Education, and any and all costs incurred in conjunction therewith will be at the expense of the parents.

Any and all results obtained as a result of the parents’ testing will be immediately delivered in writing to the Board of Education, and it is agreed will be made available for public inspection. Board of Education will provide the results of its testing.

The time for the testing will be established by the Board of Education. It is agreed that it will be completed in no event later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 4, 2008. A date and time for said testing will be agreed to in the immediate future.

If at any time during the course of the testing, the representatives of the Board of Education determine that the parents are failing to comply with the terms of this agreement or are engaged in activities which could result in contamination of the building, they have the right to terminate the testing procedure and to direct the hygienist and the parents representatives out of the building.

Dated at Greenwich, Connecticut, this day of April, 2008.

PARENTS BOARD OF EDUCATION

____________________________ By____________________________

____________________________ _____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

Here are the requests for changes by the parents:

Paragraph 1, Please remove the wording "within a portion of"

Paragraph 5, Please remove the wording "continue its policy" - Since when is there is no BOE policy re: transparency

Paragraph 9, The school couldn't provide this information, why should the parents have to? Since when is the BOE expert enough to determine if the standards are acceptable?

Paragraph 10 - parents want two BOE reps, two parent reps, the two hygienists and a member of the BOE ( Please see later how this will play into the last paragraph)

Paragraph 12 - the parents want no limit to where thier tester can test. They should not have to bear the costs to look behind walls or in soffits (by the way this is where they say it all started!) since if they remediate they will have to tear these places open anyway. Besides, these parents are the poorest parents in the district and this is over burdensome.

Paragraph 13 - an even exchange of results simultaneously is the only fair way to do this.

Paragraph 15 - this goes back to paragraph 10 - the parents want the member of the Board of Selectmen to determine compliance with the agreement, not the BOE reps. God forbid one of the parent reps sneezes or stumbles, because the BOE would kick them out immediately. The parents only want some common sense here.

Please Also See:

04/06/08 - "My son was in the hardest hit classroom," Laura DiBella said. "I want to find out what they found in there."

04/06/08 - Glenville Parents: Get Your Motors Running And Head Out On The Highway.

04/05/08 - School principal Stacy Gross was busy yesterday afternoon trying to respond to questions from parents and students and reassure them.

04/03/08 - Independent? - Word Is That Fairfield Based Architect John Brice Recommended Navigant Consulting, formerly known as The Metzler Group

03/28/08 - MABS - Mad Mothers Against Betty Sternberg

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In a completely rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and the highest responsibility anyone could have.

-- Lee Iacocca