Ductwork Falls From Ceiling, Closing School's Lunchroom
Repair responsibility is topic of discussion

August 23, 2007
By Allen Powell II
The Times Picayune

A half-ton air conditioning duct collapsed onto cafeteria tables at an Algiers charter school Monday evening, drawing the ire of charter school officials who say the Recovery School District is responsible for maintenance and repairs at their schools.

The duct, which stretches across the length of the cafeteria, fell from the ceiling about 6 p.m. damaging an entire row of cafeteria tables, said David Grubb, communications director for the Algiers Charter School Association. No children were present at the school and no one was injured, he said.

It appears that the duct, weighing between 800 and 1,000 pounds, was incorrectly secured to the ceiling with drywall screws, and did not have adequate support, Grubb said. ACSA is still trying to verify and locate the contractor that did the installation, which may have taken place five years ago when the building was managed by the Orleans Parish School Board, he said.

The cafeteria is expected to be closed all week, and students will have lunch in their classrooms, Grubb said.

Grubb said recovery district officials have told ACSA that repairs to the duct will be completed by today. But Karen Burke, the Recovery School District's deputy superintendent of operations, said maintenance on charter school buildings is the responsibility of the individual school, not the RSD.

In a memo sent to the district's communication director, Burke said the RSD performs capital improvements based on the availability of money and the severity of the problem.

She also said a private firm is currently conducting an assessment of the RSD's facilities to develop a comprehensive report about the condition of school buildings and building components. That assessment is expected to be completed by the spring of 2008, and the actual capital improvement plan will be completed after that, Burke said.

The charter association plans to have an inspection of the work before children are allowed to re-enter the cafeteria. The Recovery School District has pledged to examine all of the Algiers schools for potential problems, but no time frame has been set, he said.

"We'd like to see some action," Grubb said. "Had it been about six hours earlier, during lunch, you would have had a number of children injured or killed."

Grubb said that while the collapse of the duct was unexpected, it was not a complete surprise because many of the association's schools are in need of serious capital improvements. The association estimates that roughly $100 million worth of capital improvements are needed at charter schools in Algiers, including termite remediation, plumbing repairs and electrical improvements. He said that the roof at Alice Harte Elementary School has serious mold problems and a pipe recently burst and flooded a classroom at Behrman Elementary School.

Grubb said the association has spent roughly $2 million to make capital improvements to schools and has not been reimbursed yet by the recovery district.