Kyrene pauses Sierra roof work after odor complaints; students relocated to Cerritos and Altadena

The Kyrene Governing Board on Aug. 19 heard an update that roofing work at Kyrene de la Sierra has been paused after air-quality complaints and indoor air testing showed elevated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and that students and staff have been relocated to Cerritos and Altadena while mitigation and further testing continue.

Superintendent Laura Tenas said the district paused production on the roof Aug. 1 and has provided multiple updates to families. "We just want to give you a little update on the roof, what's going on with the roof, and also what's going on with the relocation of our Sierra students," she said, explaining the district invited outside experts to present the testing results.

Mason Mead, Kyrene's director of facilities, summarized the response: the district met with Maricopa County air-quality officials, sealed the roof Aug. 13 as a precaution against rain, and is continuing mitigation and additional testing under recommendations from Dominion Environmental Consultants. Mead said roofing production has been on hold since Aug. 1 and that the district is awaiting an official response from Maricopa County regarding the complaint.

Dominion environmental hygienist Dr. Ryan (Dominion Environmental Consultants) described the testing Dominion performed. Dominion used handheld meters to map total VOCs and then collected a laboratory air sample from what Dominion identified as the building's highest-reading room. "The total volatile organic compound levels were elevated in the building," Dr. Ryan said, noting that VOCs detected included many low-odor-threshold compounds commonly associated with roofing products. He said individual compounds mostly fell below adult occupational exposure limits and that, when combined into a…