I reviewed over 800 maintenance requests for Dennis Lab's Mosaic Campus from 2017 through 2023, looking for any signs of negligence. The District has been prompt about addressing most concerns submitted by staff, but several items from the 2013 Health/Life Safety Survey are marked with a 'Request Date' in 2017. 18 of those have a 'Completion Date' in 2019. Several of them describe water damage and/or masonry damage.
I emailed Director of Buildings and Grounds Kent Metzger for comment, and he was unable to explain, confirm, or deny the accuracy of those dates, because "These items predate my November 2021 employment at DPS.". I then contacted Denise Swarthout, DPS61's Communications Officer, asking the same questions, and suggesting she reach out to the assigned maintenance staff for answers. She did not respond.
A week later, I emailed Swarthout again and CC'd Metzger, Superintendend Dr. Rochelle Clark, and the entire Board of Education. Swarthout responded that "the District has no further information to provide."
Table of some digital maintenance requests that are related to the 2013 HLS Survey for Dennis/Mosaic. See all HLS-related requests
What Did I find?
Most maintenance requests are fairly mundane and routine - move an item between buildings, mount a TV, paint a thing, etc etc.
Others are still pretty mundane, but might be cause for alarm if they weren't promptly handled (most of them are promptly addressed) - faucet leaks, roach/ant/bee sighting, water leak, loose handrail, etc etc.
Some items make me wonder if there should have been more concern and inspection - Water leaks, door alignment issues, wall damage.
Door alignment
I'm interested in door alignment issues because Klingner's Structural Inspection states "The upper level and both of these upper stair and stair landings have excessive deflection" and that "someone has had to cut the door down to reduce the door height by up to 1 [inch]" to "allow the doors to be able to swing open."
And I don't see any mention of cutting doors in the maintenance requests, but I did note 8 cases of "door alignment" related maintenance requests. One such request reads "Door does not close/out of alignment with frame", and the repair notes state "Repaired doors and made adjustments." The other requests/repairs are quite similar.
Water Leaks
Water leaks are of interest because Bacon Farmer Workman's Inspection states "water drainage is undermining the grout in the structural brick" related to a water drainage pipe sticking out of room 141. The recommendation was to add an extension and replace grout. And Klingner's Kaleidoscope/French report mentions several issues related to water, such as "Previous attempts to sister some of the water deteriorated roof joists was observed near the north wall bearing."
I noted 17 cases of water-leak related maintenance requests. (Note: I did not mark plumbing-related leaks.) Some were addressed in a few days, but others weren't addressed for about 2 years, according to repair records.
Below are some water-leak related requests of interest.
Table of noteable digital maintenance requests related to water leaks at Dennis/Mosaic.
Other concerns
Other concerning requests include "older portion of the building (west) wall is falling apart", "The railing does not go all the way to the wall and a gap is present", "Deteriorated/damaged masonry joint sealant at the perimeter of grills". I noted several requests like these. See below.
Table of noteable digital maintenance requests related to walls, masonry, or stairs at Dennis/Mosaic.
What was missing from the maintenance requests?
The Klingner and BFW reports showed possible past repairs and issues that were of potential concern. The below items were not clearly stated in the digital maintenance requests I received, unless I overlooked them. Note that I only reviewed requests from 2017-2023, so relevant records may exist.
From Klingner's Report
- "we observed previous attempts to repair some of the stair stringers"
- It appears "an 8 [inch] steel W-beam was added at some time in the past was pocketed into and added brick support pedestals on the east and west ends"
- "two timber column supports" are "leaning or deflecting excessively". 6X6 timber posts, Not part of original plans.
- "possible" that they were added "as a repair attempt for the 2nd floor landing"
- "someone has had to cut the door down to reduce the door height by up to 1 [inch]" to "allow the doors to be able to swing open."
- "One of the exposed joists of the upper level has been notched for a previous plumbing penetration. There was also some minor existing water damage to the nearby joists and ceiling where it appeared a previous plumbing repair had been made"
From Bacon Farmer Workman's Report:
- "it was evident that some previous sistering of stair framing had been done in the past, but the sistering did not extend to the bearing point (Pic 19)."
- "We were also told while on site that some other stair joists have had to be reinforced in the past"
- "This report does not address the lower-level bathrooms currently closed due to mold issues."
Also see my Klingner Mosaic Notes and BFW Mosaic Notes
What can I conclude from this information? (Opinion)
In my personal opinion - that the District has little interest in transparency or accountability.
Regarding the roughly 6 years between the 2013 HLS Survey and the records showing 2019 repair completion dates ... I can't conclude anything because the District declines to comment.
I want to know if the District was negligent with regard to both Dennis Lab Buildings, and as of yet I don't have proof one way or the other, and they don't seem interested in finding out how the buildings got this way.