Dennis Lab's north staircase is structurally damaged and separating from the building. Part of former French Academy's exterior walls and roof are deteriorated, rusted, and/or bowing. The District first publicized concerns on May 31st, 2023, one day after the school year ended, despite knowing of issues 9 months earlier, possibly sooner. Both buildings are now closed while the District determines next steps.
Since news broke, DPS 61 has made several misleading and false statements, has avoided reporters questions, has not addressed concerns about transparency, and has not taken accountability for the delay in scheduling an inspection. Further, there are past repairs of the affected areas not disclosed by the district.
For updates, see the Dennis Story
UPDATE: 9 months before the May 30th inspection, on August 23, 2022, a parent spoke to the board of education stating "The beautiful staircase in the front of the building has a 1 inch gap that is visible from where it's actually separating from the building. This means there are foundational issues at this point, which will only get worse."
The District claimed they would "schedule a community forum" to share recommendations, but a June 21st Board Meeting was scheduled with a $439,000 proposal for six "Mobile Modular" classrooms on the Garfield Campus.
Staff recommends approval of this item, which was "Reviewed By" DPS Superintendent Dr. Clark and Chief Operations Officer Dr. Mike Curry. The special session is open to the public, but I saw no news of a community forum to review ideas prior to this meeting, at which the board is expected to vote on this plan.
During a June 13th Press Conference, Dr. Clark claimed "it was around late April, mid April, around that time frame" when concerns came forward and the process for getting an inspection started. This conflicts with DPS's written statement which says the "room shakes when music played in room above" was a concern brought forth during a February 7th faculty meeting, and stating that on March 7th they informed staff "we were still trying to get a structural analysis scheduled".
Further, the District's timeline claims that March 22, April 19, and May 17 were all half days on which "engineering review was attempted to be scheduled," though the Director of Buildings and Grounds, Kent Metzger, didn't receive an inspection contract proposal from Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering until March 23rd, and he didn't secure a purchase order until at least April 4th.
Additionally, BFW Engineering offered a possible inspection the week of May 15th, but Metzger replied "Can we do 5/30 and/or 5/31?"
In a Byers & Co Interview, Dr. Clark claimed "we went through the building with a fine-tooth comb," but the final analysis from Klingner & Associates shows they only inspected specific areas of buildings, known to have concerns.
UPDATE July 13th: The BFW reports, released June 29th, support Dr. Clark's claim that the full buildings were inspected.
In a May 31st email to WCIA Journalist Scarlett O'Hara, DPS Communications Officer Denise Swarthout wrote "We requested the analysis from a structural engineer this spring, but yesterday was the first availability on his schedule to come out and do the analysis." Email records suggest shared blame for the scheduling issues, and the June 13th statement from DPS states "engineer and/or DPS staff schedules did not align."
Further, BFW's Phillip Holthaus told Metzger on May 15th that his colleagues "might be available" for inspection that week (May 15-19), and that he (Holthaus) was available the following week (May 22-26). Despite Metzger writing on April 27th "We probably need to do the work sooner than later," he responded to Holthaus's May 15th email asking "Can we do 5/30 and/or 5/31?"
On May 31st, Scarlett O'Hara asked Swarthout "Would you and/or the principal of Dennis Lab School be available for a quick interview?" and Swarthout responded "We’re not available for on-camera interviews at this time, the statement is all the information we have to share."
During the June 13th Press Conference, a reporter stated "there's people in the community who say you haven't been transparent with Dennis" and asked "because parents want to know 'I was sending my kid there for so long', do you have any comment towards that?" Dr. Clark simply referred folks to the district's webpage, which discloses a timeline but does not address why the district did not transparently share their structural concerns prior to the inspection on the last day of school.
Later, on June 13th, I attended the Board of Education meeting to speak and interview district representatives about the timeline and transparency concerns.
I asked Swarthout why the District did not come forward sooner, and if Kent Metzger is available for interview. She directed me to speak with Dr. Clark and check the district webpage.
When I approached Dr. Clark, Board Secretary Melissa Bradford told me I could not speak with Clark and to direct my questions to Denise Swarthout. After the meeting, I tried to get an interview with Clark, but Clark promptly left before I could, Bradford seemed to ignore me, and security kicked me out while I was trying to ask Board Vice President Jason Dion some questions.
Further, Jason Dion laughed, saying "it'll be hard to reach me" because Board President Bill Clevenger is the Board's spokesperson.
Update July 13th: Jason Dion provided an interview on June 27th.
I also asked Swarthout if there are "any specific plans for how to ensure more transparency in future issues like these?" She said they are "sharing all of the information that we have available right now with our community and we plan to continue doing that."
I pressed, saying "That doesn't address the delay in getting the information to the public; there are a lot of people concerned ..." but Swarthout cut me off and directed me to Dr. Clark.
I also tried to catch Dr. Clark in the parking lot after the meeting. I believe she ignored me, but it's possible she did not hear me holler for her.
The next day, during a June 14th Byers & Co Interview, Bill Clevenger said "It doesn't do lot of good right now for us to spend a lot of time and energy on what was."
Then on Thursday, June 15th, I called Kent Metzger, who declined an interview & directed me to speak with Dr. Clark. I went to the Keil building to do just that. The receptionist took my name and phone number, saying that Dr. Clark's "secretary will call you back" to schedule an interview. As of Tuesday June 20th at 5:10pm, I have received no call.
On May 26th, Kent Metzger wrote to BFW Engineering's Phillip Holthaus "My maintenance foreman and mason are knowledgeable about some structural issues so they can meet too."
On June 1st, Klingner & Associates performed a detailed structural analysis of both Dennis/Mosaic and French/Kaleidoscope, which they sent to the district late on June 8th, and the District released on June 13th along with their timeline and narrative.
The Dennis/Mosaic inspection detailed previously investigated deterioration of the basement slab, which "typically" is 4 or 5 inches, but was only about 1.5 inches of hard material, and the rest "appeared to be deteriorated concrete or sandy material."
Update July 13th: The BFW Reports released on June 29th show that BFW performed the basement-slab inspection on May 30th, 2023.
Klingner also wrote "an [8 inch] steel W-beam was added at some time in the past," noted there were "added brick support pedestals on the east and west ends," that "two timber column supports" which were "leaning or deflecting excessively" were "likely not original to the design of the stair" and "it is possible that the columns were added at some time in the past as a repair attempt."
Klingner continues that "someone has had to cut the door down to reduce the door height by up to 1" to "allow the doors to be able to swing open" because of how much the stairs have shifted.
Klingner writes "There was also some minor existing water damage to the nearby joists and ceiling where it appeared a previous plumbing repair had been made."
The French/Kaleidoscope report details, among other damages, water damage to the exterior wall parapets (where the wall meets the roof), noting "The inside face of parapet appears to have been coated and painted to attempt to prevent moisture infiltration of the parapet," but adds that the coating and paint on the inside of the parapet "is deteriorated and missing in numerous locations and appears to be allowing moisture to penetrate the parapet walls."
Likely previous repairs were attempted, noting "A few locations of pocketed roof framing on the south end were observed to have steel straps or shims added in an attempt to prevent the wood framing from pulling out of the pocket" and "previous attempts to sister some of the water deteriorated roof joists was observed near the north wall bearing."
In the case of both buildings, Klingner made detailed repair recommendations, though price estimates are not included.
Board Member Al Scheider said "as far as other structural things, Kent [Metzger] had, twice this year, has gone through a whole list of all the schools and what they were doing." Al said he doesn't understand construction, so he didn't read the list. We will request this list through FOIA.
23 Illinois Administrative Code 180 requires annual inspection of all school district facilities to be performed by the Regional Superintendent's office.
ROE #39 Superintendent Jill Reedy says she has a certified Health Life Safety inspector named Chad Ramey who checks things "in all 55 buildings" in Macon and Piatt counties. She says "the things we check, though, are not engineering/architectural things; we're not qualified for that."
She said they check that exit lights are marked, and that fire extinguishers are up to date, among other things. ROE also ensures that the 10-year survey is conducted by an architect / structural engineer, but does not keep records about what work has been done since the 10-year survey.
Jill Reedy says the district is up to code, since the new 10-year survey is due by the end of December this year, which will be submitted to the Illinois State Board of Education.
She referred me to contact her HLS inspector Chad Ramey and Bob Sondergoth with the Illinois State Board of Education with further questions. As of Tuesday June 20th, I have not heard back from Sondergoth.
Chad Ramey wrote back that he inspected both buildings on January 4th, 2023, and "During my inspections I did not note any issues with exterior walls, stairs, or parapets at either location. As you said, those types of items are definitely out of my expertise and or knowledge."
The 2013 HLS Survey for Dennis/Mosaic details at least 9 cases of water leaks or damage, a hole in a masonry wall, a deteriorated masonry joint sealant, and that many doors did not fit properly. It does not detail any clear structural issues.
For all of our sources, including emails, & a catalogue of other reporting, see our Dennis Story page.
For our extended report, read on. (Note: Our extended report was written Friday June 16th and has not been updated with any new information)
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File a Formal Complaint
If you have first-hand knowledge or any documentation of wrongdoing by District officials – whether criminal or not – you may file a formal complaint with the Regional Superintendent Jill Reedy, who has jurisdiction over the District.
You may also contact your state representative and the Attorney General's office.
- Jill Reedy, Regional Superintendent: jreedy@roe39.org, Ph: 217-872-3721, 1690 Huston Dr, Decatur IL
- Sue Scherer, IL 96th State Representative: sueforrep@gmail.com, Ph: 217-433-7030
-
IL Attorney General, Diane Saltoun, Inspector General: Ethics.OEIG@ilag.gov, Ph: 888-814-4646- Correction: The Ethics Office will "investigate allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct relating to employees of the Attorney General's Office only."
Get Involved
Whether you have questions, support the District's handling of this situation, want to criticize the District, or advocate for a particular outcome, contact officials or make public comment using the options below.
If you're particularly interested in transparency, see my opinion piece for ideas.
Involvement options:
- Submit unanswered questions to the District. First, check the FAQ
- Attend School Board Meetings and speak publicly, up to 3 minutes. Arrive early to sign in. Next meeting is 6:30pm on Tuesday June 27, 2023 at the Keil Administration Building at 101 West Cerro Gordo Street in Decatur.
- Contact School Board Members.
- Contact District Administration, particularly Superintendent Dr. Rochelle Clark.
- Contact Dennis Lab's Principal, Ms. Kamie Meador, and the two assistant principals Keith Creighton and Karissa Tucker.
- Contact Valerie Wells with Herald & Review to give comment. Her email is Valerie.Wells@lee.net, or comment on her facebook post.
- Contact WAND's Caryn Eisert to give comment. See Caryn's facebook post where she shares her phone number for calls or texts.
- Write a letter to the Editor with Herald & Review to express your thoughts publicly.
note: The District recently updated their website. You may need to clear your browser cookies if the link does not work
The District is hosting a special Board Meeting tomorrow, Wednesday June 21st, at 5pm at MacArthur High School to vote on the staff recommendation for mobile classrooms on the Garfield Campus. See event details. (Meeting has passed)
Misleading and false statements
Superintendent Dr. Rochelle Clark and "district administration" attended a February 7th Dennis staff meeting, where concerns were expressed of "ceiling leaks," "wood damage under carpet," and "room shakes when music played in room above," according to a June 13th statement by the District.
The statement says staff was informed on March 7th that "we were still trying to get a structural analysis scheduled," and "March 22nd" is given as one of the dates attempted, despite no contract for inspection being received prior to March 23rd, and no approval until April 4th or later.
During a June 13th press conference, Dr. Clark was asked about a timeline. Regarding the classroom shaking, she said "It was around late April, mid April, around that time frame." The written statement cited February 7th, though Herald & Review's Valeriew Wells wrote "This process began in mid to late April." WAND (author not listed) wrote "Clark added that she met with staff in mid to late April." Neither source clarified that the written record said otherwise.
During a June 3rd interview on Byers & Co, Dr. Clark stated "we went through the building with a fine-tooth comb," suggesting a detailed review of the entire building was completed, which conflicts with the documented record.
Klingner & Associates, P.C. prepared a comprehensive report for former French Academy (Kaleidoscope Campus) stating "The focus of our inspection and evaluation was limited to the exterior walls and parapets of the Kaleidoscope School building." Klingner's Dennis (Mosaic Campus) report states "We were informed that there were recent concerns with the structural integrity of the north multi-story main-entrance stairs, so the focus of our inspection and evaluation was limited to this north stair area of the Mosaic School building."
WAND's Alyssa Patrick wrote on June 8th "The board will discuss both short-term and long-term options for students and staff at the June 13th meeting." Herald & Review's Valerie Well's wrote on May 31st, "[Bill Clevenger] expects it to be a topic of board discussion, though maybe not in time for the next meeting on June 13 if the results of the tests are not yet available by then."
The District's statement says Klingner "sent the final analyses to DPS Administration late in the day on Thursday, June 8, 2023". The analyses and the District's statement were released in the morning of June 13th. The Dennis issues were not discussed at the June 13th Board of Education Meeting.
The District's statement says they "hope to have a solid recommendation for the DPS Board of Education to approve at its June 27, 2023" meeting, that they will "share updated information as it becomes available," and "schedule a community forum to share those recommendations with our Dennis families."
The District's FAQ asks "When was the last time a school safety survey was completed for both buildings?" and answers "The last 10-year Health Life Safety (HLS) Surveys and Reports were performed in 2013." 23 Illinois Administrative Code 180 requires the Regional Superintendent's office to inspect all district facilities annually, though the annual inspections don't involve architectural or structural analysis like the 10-year inspections do, according to Jill Reedy, the Superintendent of Regional Office of Education #39.
We have reached out to Chad Ramey, ROE #39's Health, Life, & Safety inspector, to inquire about the last inspection of both buildings. We have also reached out to Bob Sondergoth with the Illinois State Board of Education to inquire about inspections, repairs, and documentation.
The FAQ asks "How did these issues get missed over the course of the past decade since the last structural review?" They answer "Architects and engineers have said there’s no reason to believe that this was missed when the last Health Life Safety review was completed in 2013; we believe that these serious issues developed within the past few years and would have likely been found during this year's Health LIfe [sic] Safety Inspection."
The reports from Klingner & Associates describe multiple likely past repair attempts to both buildings and prior knowledge of building issues. Additionally, on May 26th, Kent Metzger wrote to BFW Engineering's Phillip Holthaus that "My maintenance foreman and mason are knowledgeable about some structural issues."
On May 31st, Denise Swarthout wrote to WCIA Journalist Scarlett O'Hara "Out of an abundance of caution, Decatur Public Schools is temporarily closing the two Dennis Lab School campuses while we further assess structural concerns with the two buildings. We continue to do our due diligence, as we take proactive steps to ensure the safety of students and staff at all DPS schools."
The district's framing as "abundance of caution" and "proactive steps" is misleading, given the knowledge of issues as early as February 7th, and the fact they didn't share news or close the buildings until after BFW engineering completed their analysis and made a recommendation.
Scheduling conflicts
On May 31st, Denise Swarthout, DPS's Chief Communications Officer, wrote to WCIA Multimedia Journalist Scarlett O'Hara that "We requested the analysis from a structural engineer this spring, but yesterday was the first availability on his schedule to come out and do the analysis." Email records suggest scheduling failures on part of both the district and the engineer.
On March 23rd, the District's Director of Buildings and Grounds, Kent Metzger, received an email from Phillip Holthaus with a $19,000 contract proposal to inspect both Dennis campuses. The proposal also asked for drawings of the buildings from BLDD Architects, which the district did not provide & Holthaus would later acquire himself. Phillip Holthaus is a Structural Engineer for Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering & Testing, Inc.
12 days later on April 4th, Metzger replied to BFW's Holthaus, writing "I am in the process of getting you a Purchase Order number. I will sign and return your proposal with issuance of the PO. Please schedule the site visit for your earliest convenience."
After 7 more days with no scheduling, Metzger tells BFW's Holthaus on April 11th "the afternoon of April 19th works well for us," but Holthaus doesn't respond for two weeks, until April 27th, asking "Are there any other dates that work well for you coming up so we can get this on our calendar?"
Metzger promptly replies "We probably need to do the work sooner than later. Can we schedule the work for an afternoon next week?" He suggests inspection could take place after dismissal to avoid disturbing the students.
Two full weeks pass before Holthaus tells Metzger, in a new email thread on May 15th, that his colleagues "Anna Marie and Heath might be available to make a site visit [this week]", and "I am rather open the following week."
Despite Metzger's previously written urgency, he delays, writing "Can we do 5/30 and/or 5/31?"
In a June 13th statement, the District claimed that scheduling attempts were made for "March 22, April 19, May 17," all half days, "but engineer and/or DPS staff schedules did not align." This shared responsibility conflicts with Swarthout's May 31st statement to O'Hara.
So who's at fault for the scheduling delay? Were other engineering firms sought? Were there other communications, besides the emails Decatur Vote received through our FOIA request?
I don't know. I have repeatedly inquired with the district, as have other journalists, and the district avoided interviews and dodged questions. I reached out to Phillip Holthaus, and he directed me to inquire with the district.
We will send additional FOIA requests to try and uncover more information.
Avoiding interviews and questions
On May 31st, WCIA Journalist Scarlett O'Hara asked Denise Swarthout
We'll be in town covering this today. Would you and/or the principal of Dennis Lab School be available for a quick interview?
47 minutes later, Swarthout responded:
Hi Scarlett! We’re not available for on-camera interviews at this time, the statement is all the information we have to share.
When O'Hara asked "When was the first opinion sought?", Swarthout responded vaguely "We requested the analysis from a structural engineer this spring."
O'Hara asked "Are you able to share the findings from his analysis?" and Swarthout responded "No, I don’t have those available." The District would later release BFW's report of the Kaleidoscope campus (French), but not of the Mosaic Campus (Dennis).
On June 1st, 2023, journalist Bryan Bridge contacted Swarthout asking:
I am just seeking a bit more information on the Dennis Lab School closing and confirming details I’ve seen in other articles. Why did the district temporarily close Dennis Lab School? Any timeline or date that you plan on reopening it? I’ve seen something about an infrastructure problem, can you confirm exactly what it was? If somebody came out to check it, when was that?
Swarthout, stating this is "the information I have to share at the moment" writes:
Out of an abundance of caution, we are temporarily closing the two Dennis Lab School campuses following an analysis from a structural engineer. We are looking to get a second opinion this week, but for the moment we are asking all staff at the two Dennis Lab School campuses to work from home or at an alternate location through Monday, June 5
On June 13th, Dr. Clark held a press conference, at which one reporter asked:
There's people in the community who say you haven't been transparent with Dennis. What would you say to those community members as it pertains to transparency with the structural integrity of the building, because parents want to know 'I was sending my kid there for so long', do you have any comment towards that?
Dr. Clark responded:
Actually, I will refer them to the webpage, because I do have a timeline of when I've met with Dennis staff, what the conversations were about, and how we got to this point.
The webpage does share a timeline as Clark says, but it does not address concerns about the lack of transparency leading up to May 31st when the structural concerns were announced.
On a May 31st Facebook post (We have not verified the identity of Facebook commenters or the validity of their claims), one commenter writes "It’s interesting that the day after classes ended the buildings became unsound," in a later response adding "that’s kind of my point. It sounds like the kids were in a building that was unsound but they waited until school was out to say something to the parents."
Another commenter writes "i read the article. I, as an adult, i can usually tell when in [sic] being lied to."
Yet another commenter writes "And that damage just happened - get real? But of course the building that is still structurally sound is getting the new building."
Another commenter writes:
we had no idea about it. I've worked every day in there I was in just as much danger as the students. It wasn't about our paychecks. Believe me those would disappear if we were laying in a hospital bed! We were just told about this by a robo call at 2pm TODAY. That was my first thought so it was dangerous all day I was there yesterday too and probably the rest of the year as well!
On a June 16th Facebook Post, a commenter claiming to be "a Dennis parent and teacher", writes:
My son walked into an unsafe building on a daily basis a building that now has red flags all around it but it was ok for him, other students and staff to walk into up until the last day of school. We can all talk about how nothing happened, thank God, but hundreds of kids were put into danger after concerns were brought not only to the board but the Superintendent.
On June 13th, a Herald & Review editorial quoted a parent as stating "It was OK Tuesday but it wasn't on Wednesday?"
Additionally, Kent Metzger is the Director of Buildings and Grounds, who scheduled the inspection and would have background knowledge on this issue, but he was not present at the press conference.
During a June 14th Byers & Co Interview, Board President Bill Clevenger stated "It doesn't do lot of good right now for us to spend a lot of time and energy on what was. We really have to get focused on what is and what's gonna be tomorrow."
I attended the June 13th Board of Education meeting to cover this story. Prior to the start of the meeting, I told Denise Swarthout that FOIA records showed Metzger getting the inspection proposal on March 23rd and asked:
Can I ask why the district didn't come forward sooner to let the public know?
Swarthout responded:
I don't have details on that. Everything's on our website. You can direct those questions to Dr. Clark, but I don't have more [garbled] than what's on our website at the moment.
I asked if Kent Metzger is available for interview, and again was directed to Dr. Clark as "the best one to speak with". I pushed back, stating "he has the most background knowledge," and Swarthout said that "Dr. Clark is our spokesperson" and that she (Swarthout) speaks when Clark is not available.
I asked:
Does the district have any specific plans for how to ensure more transparency in future issues like these?
Swarthout responded:
We are sharing all of the information that we have available right now with our community and we plan to continue doing that.
I pressed:
That doesn't address the delay in getting the information to the public; there are a lot of people concerned ...
Swarthout cut me off mid-sentence:
You'll need to direct all those questions to Dr. Clark. Thanks.
A couple minutes later, Dr. Clark, Secretary Melissa Bradford, and Board members entered. I approached and Dr. Clark was engaged with Bill Clevenger, and Melissa Bradford asked "Can I help you?" I responded "Yeah, I was gonna ask if I could ask Dr. Clark a couple questions." Bradford responded:
No sir. Not right now. You can talk to Denise Swarthout. She's the [garbled]
I interrupted, saying "She directed me to speak with Dr. Clark". Bradford said the BOE meeting was about to start and said "talk to [Swarthout] to see if she wants to talk aftarwards or [garbled]."
Swarthout then said to Clark and/or Bradford "We can discuss that" and either Clark or Bradford responded "Okay."
When the meeting ended, Board Member Mark Reynolds approached me to talk "as an individual," not as a representative of the Board. We spoke for about 5 minutes. By then, both Swarthout and Dr. Clark had left the room. I saw Melissa Bradford walking out of the room and tried to ask her about talking to Dr. Clark, but she continued out of the room without acknowledging me. I believe she intentionally ignored me because she was less than 10 feet away, but it is possible she did not hear me.
I then approached Board Vice President Jason Dion, who said Clark typically leaves very quickly after meetings. He added that Clevenger is the Board spokesperson, and laughed saying "it'll be hard to reach me." He would later reach out to me on Facebook offering an interview, but he did not follow through.
My brief interaction with Dion was interrupted by security personnel, who said "I gotta lock up and close the doors, okay?" Security personnel then watched me collect my things and escorted me out the rear door, saying the front entrance (from which I came) was closed.
In the parking lot, I spoke with Board Member Al Scheider for about 4 minutes, who said he found out about the structural issues on May 30th. He added that "As far as other structural things, Kent [Metzger] had, twice this year, has gone through a whole list of all the schools and what they were doing." Al said he does not understand construction, so "I don't even look at those lists."
Scheider says he asked Kent "Are we very close to getting that whole list done?" and Kent allegedly said "Construction hasn't gone as good as I'd hoped." (Recording is unclear, quote may be inaccurate). I asked Scheider if he had any policy ideas about how to mandate more transparency in the future. He said he doesn't have any specifics, but "I agree with being as transparent as [garbled]".
Just after we finished talking, I saw Melissa Bradford and Dr. Clark in the parking lot, about to enter their vehicles. I hollered "Dr. Clark!" but she proceeded into her vehicle. Bradford appeared to hear me, shifting her head toward Clark as if to say something. Dr. Clark closed her door; I gave up and we all left.
Then two days later, on Thursday May 15th, I called Kent Metzger and asked if I could ask him a few questions about the Dennis Lab Schools. He said "No, you'll need to refer all your questions to Dr. Clark's office." I pressed, asking if there was any way around that, since he'd have background knowledge on the issue, and he said "No sir."
After the call with Metzger, I went to the Keil Administration Building, and asked if I could speak with Dr. Clark. I was told she is available by appointment only and that she was not in the office at that time. I asked to schedule an interview. The receptionist took my name and phone number, saying that "her secretary will call you back." As of Tuesday June 20th, I have received no call back to schedule an interview.
The next day, Friday June 16th at 10:52 am, I emailed Denise Swarthout asking "Can you please add me to your list for press releases and announcements of press conferences? Also, can you please let me know when a date/time/location is scheduled for the community forum regarding the Dennis schools?" As of Tuesday June 20th, I have received no response and was not notified about the special board meeting scheduled for June 21st.
Additionally, I emailed Dr. Clark and Denise Swarthout on Friday at 12:32pm asking "What efforts, if any, have been made to develop an emergency exit plan and allow staff to collect belongings from unaffected classrooms?" and again, have received no reply.
I will attend the June 21st Special Board meeting to seek answers to my questions. I will also send another FOIA request for more emails, text messages, phone call records, and documents relevant to this story.
Engineering report & past repairs
The Klingner inspection details damages, suggested repairs, and describe multiple past attempts to repair problems with the structures they investigated.
Original Dennis building (Mosaic Campus) - Klingner investigated damage to the north main-entrance stairs, and previously known deterioration of the basement slab, writing that it is "unlikely that any of the structural concerns related to the north stair [are] related to the deteriorated basement floor slab" because the north stair rests on a "vestibule foundation wall with a footing below."
Regardless, they write that "previous concerns of the basement slab and foundation had led to others drilling two small exploratory holes in the basement floor slab below the lowest portion of the north stair," and that "it could still be observed in the drilled holes" that only the top 1.5 inches were hard concrete, below which the slab "appeared to be deteriorated concrete or sandy material." They noted that existing plans did not detail the thickness of the basement slab, but that it was "more typical" to contain 4 or 5 inches of hardened concrete.
Klingner wrote "an [8 inch] steel W-beam was added at some time in the past" and noted there were "added brick support pedestals on the east and west ends," and that "excessive permanent deflection was observed on this stair flight with gaps between the [stringer] and the wall mounted trim."
A stair stringer is "the vertical support board or structural member that runs along each side or center of the staircase. The treads and risers are fixed into the stringer."
"Minor interior brick wall deterioration" was also observed, but not likely related to the north stair's structural concerns.
"Two timber column supports" are "leaning or deflecting excessively," noting the 6X6 posts "were likely not original to the design of the stair," and "it is possible that the columns were added at some time in the past as a repair attempt" for the 2nd floor landing header.
A header "is a beam installed over an opening which disperses the load placed on top to the sides. Windows and doors typically have a header on top to support the load above them."
Trim boards on the posts also "have splits and gaps running vertically," which is obvious in the photographs provided by Klingner.
The report adds that the columns "do not appear to be adequately spliced or fixed to the guardrail portion of post below the column."
"Plaster was missing and heavily cracked in areas below the east and west stair flight which is likely a sign of excessive deflections."
The "2nd floor landing appears to deflect excessively, which may have been the reason why the column supports were likely added below it in the past." Also, "the header support on the north end of the 2nd floor landing appears to be inadequate."
"The upper level and both of these upper stair and stair landings have excessive deflection." K&A writes "someone has had to cut the door down to reduce the door height by up to 1" to "allow the doors to be able to swing open." "The wall on the south side of the upper landing is also deflecting." "It appears the upper-level south header is inadequate to support the stair landings and the wall above it."
"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."
The report briefly describes what repairs are required for most of the listed structural issues, though repair price estimates are not avialable in the document.
Lastly, the report advises to "restrict access to the Mosaic building north multi-story stair and areas below, above, and adjacent to the stair ..." Suggesting the possibility of allowing some staff to retrieve belongings from unaffected classrooms, it continues "Before any staff is allowed to access the interior portions of the school outside of the north stair area, we recommend a code study be completed for the building to verify if there would be safe emergency exit access locations for the staff while the north stair is inaccessible or until the north stair has been fully repaired or replaced."
The multiple past repair attempts, the cut doors, and the previous inspection into the basement slab suggest there is prior knowledge of structural concerns related to the building and the staircase - though it is unclear at this time who might possess that knowledge.
Former French building (Kaleidoscope Campus) - Klingner investigated "concerns with the structural integrity of the original building’s exterior walls and parapets."
A parapet is where "roofs meet walls" and their major function "is to protect the edge of roof assemblies from wind uplift forces."
"No signs of settlement cracking in the exterior walls or exposed portion of foundation of the 3-story building was observed. The only signs of brick or mortar joint cracking observed were near deteriorated window lintel bearings or near the tops of the 3-story walls at the corners or wall bump-outs."
Mortar is the white stuff between bricks. A lintel bearing is "a beam placed across the openings like doors, windows etc. in buildings to support the load from the structure above."
"Most of the third-floor window lintels have signs of pack-rusting and deterioration."
Pack Rusting is "a type of corrosion" caused by "an electrochemical reaction" that causes "bulging of parts of parallel plates. If the problem is not resolved, structural strength will reduce continuously, creating potentially serious failures."
"The portions of brick that have not been tuckpointed have mortar joints that are deteriorated," Klingner's report states.
Tuckpointing is "the process of removing and repairing deteriorated mortar joints between the bricks of your house." "Adding fresh mortar can help prevent weakening of the walls."
U.S. News continues that depending on fluctuating weather conditions "mortar may not need to be replaced for up to 30 years" if tuckpointing is done properly. "Ideally, tuckpointing is used as preventive maintenance. You can usually tell when tuckpointing is necessary. Some signs include mortar joints that are broken, cracked or partially missing. Brick that is cracked or crumbling will also require immediate attention."
Klingner's report continues. East & West walls "showed signs of bowing and leaning out" "near the 3rd floor ceiling elevation going up," with more bowing on the east wall than the west wall.
"We also observed a few locations of exterior wall deterioration on the 2-story east building addition," noting mortar joint cracking near the corners and lintel bearings, and that two exterior wall door openings had pack-rusting on the lintels that had cracked the brick veneer.
Brick veneer wall "uses another material to give structural stability," and "has a single external layer of bricks used as siding for its visual appeal."
The report details water damage to the exterior wall parapets, noting "The inside face of parapet appears to have been coated and painted to attempt to prevent moisture infiltration of the parapet," but adds that the coating and paint on the inside of the parapet "is deteriorated and missing in numerous locations and appears to be allowing moisture to penetrate the parapet walls."
Mulitple third-floor classrooms have "Moisture damage to the drywall near the top of wall or ceiling tiles near the exterior wall." "Cracks were observed on the interior side of the north-east and north-west parapet corners." "The parapets are leaning outward and bowing outward in multiple locations."
"The roof decking and framing was observed to not be attached or tied to the east and west walls or parapets," noting a 3.5 inch gap "near the middle of the east wall." "The wood deck and the roof framing that was pocketed into the north and south exterior walls had portions with signs of water deterioration."
Likely previous repairs were attempted, noting "A few locations of pocketed roof framing on the south end were observed to have steel straps or shims added in an attempt to prevent the wood framing from pulling out of the pocket" and "Previous attempts to sister some of the water deteriorated roof joists was observed near the north wall bearing."
The final recommendation is that DPS continue to restrict access to the east portions of the building.
The various cited issues come with multiple repair recommendations. The final note states "The Klingner recommendations above are assuming the Kaleidoscope building is going to be repaired and stabilized for continued use as an elementary school building in the future."