Page 23 - School Planning & Management, October 2017

help improve the health of schools for students, teachers and other staff mem- bers. Proactive management of environ- mental pollution issues, backed by relevant insurance protection, will help ensure that administrators have the resources available to remediate polluted areas, and deal with public fallout from media coverage and concerned citizens.
Key Areas of Concern
There are a number of primary envi- ronmental contamination concerns facing educational facilities:
Mold and legionella top the list of concerns for educational facilities. Many education facilities were built decades ago and have cracks that are susceptible to leaks. Any leaks in the roofs or internal plumb-
ing of a school can cause mold to form and quickly lead to an unsafe environment for both students and employees. Schools need to have funds available to quickly address any potential incidents of mold and replace impacted sheetrock and other building materials before the exposure spreads. Mold is also an issue in newly constructed schools, which often face time pressures that force contractors to start installing interior sheet- rock before the exterior is completely sealed.
Legionella is commonly caused by old, or poorly managed HVAC systems, water treatment systems, fountains or pools and poses an immediate threat to student and employee health. Not only must schools pay to remediate impacted buildings, they are also liable for any related medical costs for students and staff that fall ill.
Storage tanks are commonly used by many schools to house either heating oil
or fuel for buses and vehicle fleets. Many
of these tanks are underground, creating the potential for soil pollution. Schools are obligated to remedy environmental pollu- tion on their grounds from sources such as storage tanks, once it is identified, even if they weren’t previously aware of it. Leaking storage tanks can also create pollution in adjoining parcels that the schools are also responsible for remediating.
Historical contamination on school campuses often goes unnoticed until new construction projects are initiated on previ- ously “unused” land. Many schools have historical pollution from chemicals that were improperly disposed of many years ago. Schools are obligated to pay for all remedia-
tion costs, on their property and any adjacent locations that are impacted, once pollution is discovered. While unknown, these are often among the largest costs schools bear in rela- tion to environmental issues.
Damaged reputations are a frequent companion to environmental contamination
Teacher alerts
Strobe, tones, & pop-ups
Pre-recorded announcements and instructions
Display maps & directions
Notify off-campus responders
Lock doors
How well can you communicate in an emergency?
Communication technology that helps keep staff and students aware, focused, and out of harm’s way is part of a strong Emergencey Preparedness
Plan (EPP). What’s more, it should cover:
1. ...activation: Multiple ways for staff to activate an alert
2. ...notification:Redundant ways to inform responders
3. ...response: A suite of effective, automated actions
Does yours?
If it’s time to update your school’s communication technology, give us a call. We make it easier
to learn in classrooms and to manage bells, paging, alerting, and
response
across campus.
To learn how
to build strong
EPP-ready
communication
infrastructure,
download the free guide at gofrontrow.com/spm-conductor.
Silent signals
800.227.0735 | gofrontrow.com
OCTOBER 2017 / SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 23