The good news is that repeat air testing in the High School, after implementation of preliminary mitigation steps, show a significant reduction in the PCE and TCE vapors to levels well below the EPA "Action levels". The district will continue the mitigation (primarily increasing the air flow through the HVAC system) until more permanent solutions are in place. Plans are proceeding to install a "depressurization" system to lower the concentration of vapors beneath the slab to prevent them from entering the building.
The Board did spend more than an hour last night with representatives from Klinke Cleaners, the DNR, the testing company, and experts hired to guide the remediation. I was surprised to learn that soil contamination was first detected on the Klinke site in 2008, and removal of contaminated soil was done in 2010. Klinke Cleaners has been funding the testing and cleanup efforts at the high school. The Wisconsin dry cleaner's association does have a fund to help with the costs of environment remediation.
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In other business:
Technology update: the board heard a detailed report from IT Director Bill Herman on the state of our technology infrastructure. In brief: not good and falling behind, without outdated and inadequate equipment and support. Bill presented an "adequate funding" proposal that included a nearly $200K increase in funding to support our educational goals. You can find Bill's presentation here.
The one bright spot in: a federal stimulus funded program will bring us desperately needed high bandwidth internet access by the beginning of next year.
Buy a Bus seat: The board also considered a "Buy a seat" program where students within our new 2 mile walk zones would have the option to receive school bus transportation for a fee of $150 on a space available basis. It's unfortunate that we have to go this direction.
Nuestro Mundo Dual Language Immersion: The board considered the application process for the Nuestro Mundo program to be operated with the Madison School district in Maywood next year. Applicants have until June 29th this year to apply to enter the Kindergarten class. Monona Grove has up to 5 spots reserved, if more than 5 applications are received there will be a random draw for the positions.
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(photo ©2008 Bruce Fritz)
About Me
- Peter Sobol
- My family moved to Monona in 2003 and have been happily ensconsed in the Frost Woods Neighborhood ever since. I have 2 kids who graduated from Mg. I have been serving on the school board since April of 2007. We moved back to the Midwest in 2002 after spending 10 years in California, where I was a Department Director for Maxtor, a Fortune 500 company. In truth we left California largely because of the school situation - chronically underfunded schools did not offer the kind of programs or opportunities we wanted for our children. We picked Monona because our thorough research showed that this was a place we would really like to educate our kids. Our experience has taught us to value the quality schools we have here in Monona, and the importance of careful stewardship to maintain community support for those schools.
2 comments:
Soil vapor intrusion is a relatively new "pathway of concern" for contaminated sites - the Klinke's are taking full responsibility for the investigation and interim actions and have hired very qualified professionals to do the work. There are so, so many old contaminated dry cleaner sites where there is no one like the Klinkes to step forward. While I wish the contamination weren't there to begin with, the interim action is working as planned. I also want the site investigated and cleaned up as quickly as possible, and I personally am grateful that the Klinke's are our neighbors and are working cooperatively with the school, the DHS and the DNR. It could be so much worse.
My high school freshman recently sprouted a third ear. Should I be concerned?
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