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Parents press district on cleanliness, communication at Farrand Elementary amid bond work
Summary
Multiple parents told the board that construction at Farrand Elementary has left the building unclean and unsafe at the start of the school year; board and facilities staff acknowledged problems and said they were working to improve communication and site clean-up.
Several parents told the board that Farrand Elementary reopened to students this school year while parts of the building were unfinished and inadequately cleaned after summer construction, and they urged district administrators to address cleanliness, safety and communication failures.
“Construction has only made the cleanliness issues worse,” said Megan Rutkowski, a Farrand parent who said the building “was never cleaned before the first day of school.” Rutkowski and other parents described dust, unclean HVAC units, holes in walls from construction and playground safety issues. “Our kids came home coughing, congested the first week,” said another parent, citing recurring respiratory symptoms.
Parents said they had attended a recent Finance and Operations committee meeting to raise concerns and asked for clearer, more frequent communication from district facilities staff. “Communication throughout the bond process has been almost non-existent,” Rutkowski said.
District officials acknowledged the complaints and described active follow-up. Jill Minnick, chief finance and operations officer, said the facilities and construction teams are coordinating with schools and that improvements to reporting and electronic work-order tracking are underway. “We need to improve that,” Minnick said of Farrand’s readiness and cleanliness.
Matt Lentz, director of capital programs and facilities, said staff have increased on-site coordination and are meeting with building principals and custodial partners to target outstanding items, and that crews were working late into the evening to resolve issues at Farrand. Lentz said the district will step up communications to parents and staff and conduct follow-up walk-throughs with school leaders.
Board members and parents also discussed contract oversight and custodial performance; parents said Farrand had lower inspection rates by the contracted cleaning vendor, a concern mentioned during the Finance and Operations meeting. Administration said it is reviewing inspection and work-order data and will report back to the board.
Parents requested an on-site visit for board and community members and repeated a call for timely air-quality and inspection reports. District leaders indicated they would increase outreach to affected families and bring follow-up information to future committee meetings.
