Environmental Archive, 6/14/02 - 10/30/02: Draft Minutes, 7/11/02 - Parents' Association of Stuyvesant High School

DRAFT Minutes Special Executive Board Meeting July 11, 2002

Dale Bernstein, co-president of the Stuyvesant Parents' Association, called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.

Members of the Executive Board in attendance were: (to be added)

Observers in attendance were: (to be added)

A quorum of the Executive Board was present.

Dale introduced herself as co-president. She explained that Judy Moore, the other co-president, would arrive later. Other board members introduced themselves.

Dale made the following remarks:

the current officers have been in office just 11 calendar days;
this special executive board meeting was called to hire an overseer to make sure the cleaning work to be done in the school this summer is done in a manner that makes us feel comfortable and that protects the health and safety of students, teachers and staff;
that everyone shares the goal of having the work done well.

She then provided the following background:

that the current officers took office on July 1;
that they have had to function without an official turnover of materials from the previous administration, in spite of requests for such materials;
that the current officers have been involved since mid-June in negotiations with the Board of Education about cleaning of the classroom unit ventilators and ducts;
that the officers worked with lawyer Richard Ben-Veniste and the prior PA administration to make clear to the Board of Education that as of July 1 the threat of the lawsuit would not go away if the Board of Education did not clean the school in a reasonable way;
that on June 27, in a phone conversation with Richard Ben-Veniste, Jonathan Shiffman,

that FEMA subsequently agreed to pay for the cleaning;
that the agreement with the Board of Education has expanded to include cleaning of the ducts and replacement of carpeting and the covering of the seats in the auditorium.

Dale said negotiations then turned to whether the Stuyvesant building would be closed for the summer. Officials decided to close the school so that the cleanup work could be done more quickly and to minimize concerns about health and safety while the work was being done. She said the school will close as of Friday evening, July 12, through the end of the summer. The goal is to complete the work before school opens in September.

Dale said the incoming officers were concerned how to ensure that the cleanup would meet the necessary standards. She said that the officers identified Tom Fusillo as a candidate for environmental consultant, primarily through discussions with other downtown schools. She said that he had led PS 234 and PS/IS 89 though their cleanups and had been able to work with the Board of Education.

Dale also said that the officers heard great concern from some parents that the PA would not continue working with Howard Bader.

Dale said the officers propose that the Parents' Association hire both Mr. Fusillo and Mr. Bader, as each brings different strengths to the project and each has indicated his willingness to work together.

Dale concluded by saying she hoped this proposal would satisfy the many constituencies attending tonight's meeting.

Donovan Moore then moved that:

the Parents' Association retain Environ Corp. to interface with the Board of Education to monitor the cleanup of the unit ventilators and the duct work at Stuyvesant and
the Parents' Association retain Howard Bader to work in concert with Environ to monitor the same cleanup process. The motion was seconded.

Dave Ross, the second vice president, then commented on his role as parliamentarian. He said that he takes the role seriously and will apply Roberts' Rules of Order in a reasonable way that doesn't inhibit people from speaking but does allow meetings to be run in an orderly manner. He noted that three types of motions can be made during meetings: privileged motions (such as "I'm cold; please open a window"); motions of order (such as noting that a member is being disruptive), and discussion of points being considered, with all comments adhering to the motion at hand. The purpose of these rules is to accomplish the goals of the meeting.

Dave said that Roberts' Rules suggest that during discussions speakers on opposite sides of an issue alternate and that everyone should have a chance to speak once before anyone speaks again.

Dale then suggested that the discussion on the motion be limited to 20 or 25 minutes, with individual speakers limited to two minutes each.

Donovan Moore stated reasons for hiring Tom Fusillo and his firm, Environ. He said that he had met Mr. Fusillo, that the company has worked this year with PS 234 and PS/IS89, that he spoke with both Mr. Fusillo and Mr. Bader today and that they have spoken with each other and Mr. Fusillo is comfortable with the cleanup protocols suggested by Mr. Bader.

Harvey Blum said he supported hiring Tom Fusillo, saying he had talked with a parent who has children at both PS/IS89 and Stuyvesant who said the following:

that Mr. Fusillo is professional and good with parents;

that he attended both subcommittee and evening meetings;

that he worked well with the PS/IS89 custodian;

that he had a good relationship with the Board of Education, without "kowtowing;"

Kiki Dinos questioned the cost of hiring both consultants and whether the PA would be reimbursed.

Dale Bernstein said the projected costs are within the budget and the PA intended to request reimbursement from FEMA for consultants' fees.

Avis Alexander asked if the PA would be reimbursed for Mr. Bader's fees to date.

Dale said reimbursement would be requested.

Avis then asked if work done at the neighboring schools was similar to the Stuyvesant work. Dale reported that the ducts at the other schools were cleaned to the extent possible without dismantling them-- more than had been done at Stuyvesant.

Elizabeth Lee asked about the installation of HEPA filtration and why an additional consultant was needed.

Regarding the HEPA filters, Dale said the motion under consideration does not address HEPA filtration. She said that an additional consultant is being considered because PA officers felt that the relationship between Mr. Bader and the BoE had deteriorated such that it would interfere with completion of the cleaning.

Rochelle Kalish stated that based on reading the Environ website, she did not trust Mr. Fusillo to be a strong advocate for the PA, and that he worked for corporations. She also said she had heard from a PS/IS89 parent that Mr. Fusillo did not have a good relationship with parents at that school.

David Ross responded that consultants often work on various sides of environmental issues. He noted that the Environ firm has enormous resources.

Ellen Freudenheim questioned the scope of the work to be done and how the two consultants would work together.

Donovan Moore said that Mr. Fusillo is comfortable with the protocols prepared by Mr. Bader, that both will attend meetings, report to the PA and make random unannounced visits to the school during the work period.

Sankar Chakraborty said the objective is to complete the cleanup. He discounted objections that Environ should not be hired because it had represented corporations that had been sued

saying that litigation occurs frequently in all fields.

David Newman described Environ's reputation as "less than sterling," and raised questions about the process of hiring and firing consultants and about the role of the PA's Health and Safety Committee.

Dale Bernstein said that the Health and Safety Committee will continue to exist, with most members from last year invited to continue and a few members added.

David Ross noted that the bylaws and Roberts' Rules say that executive boards make decisions between meetings of the general membership, and that any decision made tonight will be brought to the general membership at the next meeting.

Dale Bernstein noted that the hiring of Howard Bader had never been approved by the general membership.

A parent said she would like Mr. Bader to continue as the PA consultant. She said that firms like Environ specialize in environmental compliance, or finding the lowest acceptable levels of compliance for clients.

John Healy said he wouldn't oppose a second consultant but wants Mr. Bader to continue as the principal consultant. He said that issuing a request for proposals would be the best way to find the best consultant.

Denis Meadows said he recalled that Dave Newman recommended Mr. Bader and that the general membership never voted on the choice. He noted that with work starting tomorrow night, the executive board did not have time to screen additional candidates.

Paul Edwards said that the executive board risked having its decision turned down by the general membership, and was therefore doing Environ a disservice because the company might not be paid for its work.

Rochelle Kalish proposed the following amendment, which was not accepted by Donovan Moore, and came to an immediate vote: That the PA continue with Howard Bader as its environmental consultant and that he could use Environ as a consultant to himself. The amendment failed, with 3 in favor and 9 opposed. One member asked that Linda Lam be allowed to vote, based on her written sentiments in an e-mail. The request was denied because members must be present to vote.

Dale extended the time for discussion in response to a request from Avis Alexander.

Discussion ensued and an amendment to the original motion was read and seconded. It was moved by Avis Alexander that

the PA retain Howard Bader and Environ Corp. to work in equal partnership to monitor the cleanup of the ventilators and ducts at Stuyvesant and
the PA retain Environ Corp. to interface with the Board of Education in monitoring that same cleanup process. The motion passed 10 - 2.

Dale Bernstein adjourned the meeting at 8:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Jane Ritter, Recording Secretary