More than 10 percent of students were absent on Monday at two Franklin schools where recent environmental sampling results sparked concern.
Some parents have decided not to send their children back to Needham and Webb elementary schools this week. Others were withdrawn, said Robin Betts, a Franklin Community Schools spokeswoman.
The schools are working with parents who do not want to send their children back to those schools to help them determine the best option for their family, whether that be transferring their child to another Franklin school, transferring them out of the district or homeschooling them, and school leaders are providing parents with resources for each of those options.
At Webb Elementary, 43 of the school’s 316 students were absent on Monday, the first day after spring break. At least 14 of those absences were confirmed to be due to environmental concerns, Betts said.
At Needham Elementary, 30 of the 380 students were absent on Monday. Of those, 13 were confirmed to be related to environmental concerns, she said.
Other students who were absent this week routinely miss school, were sick, had appointments or were still on vacation, Betts said.
Students and staff at both schools had an e-Learning day on March 21, the last day before spring break, due to higher-than-recommended levels of contaminants found in the ground beneath the schools. During spring break, school officials worked with EnviroForensics to conduct another round of tests, including collecting and reviewing indoor air samples. Those results came back and showed no contamination of the air inside the schools, and underground levels of PCE and TCE, volatile organic compounds which can have harmful health impacts, had decreased significantly.
Attendance numbers improved throughout the week. A total of 35 students were absent on Wednesday at both schools, about 5 percent of the student body, which isn’t unusual.
Franklin schools organized a meeting for parents Monday night at both schools to provide a brief update on the situation and allow them to ask questions. Students who were absent on Monday were excused, she said.
"We absolutely understood that parents wanted to go to that meeting first," Betts said. "The goal of the meeting was to get Needham and Webb families together to just talk, to just say what was on their minds, which they had not had a chance to do."
The meeting lasted about an hour, and included a recap of the most recent results, and questions and answers, she said.
Parents who still do not feel comfortable sending their children back to Needham and Webb have options.
"We’re doing what we can so they can make the best informed decision for their kids," Betts said.
"I’ve received about 10 emails that had that tone — what are my options?"
Steps are being taken by Franklin Community Schools and the City of Franklin to make sure none of those harmful chemicals make their way into the air inside Needham or Webb, officials said during a news conference on Monday.
The latest sub-slab sampling results were similar to the results of the winter samplings, but were lower overall. That’s likely due to the weather, environmental experts say. Levels of PCE and TCE tend to be higher during colder months, so seeing a downward trend this spring is not surprising, experts say.
Testing last week showed no contaminants in the air inside Needham or Webb, and despite what tests conducted early last month showed, none of the 10 samples taken from the ground beneath Needham last week contained higher-than-recommended levels of contaminants.
But at Webb, two of the seven sub-slab samples came back above IDEM screening levels — 97.8 and 105 micrograms per cubic meter of TCE. The IDEM screening level for TCE is 70 micrograms per cubic meter. One air sample collected from a floor drain within Webb detected 9.9 micrograms per cubic meter of PCE, a concentration well below IDEM screening levels.
The drains were plugged and one-way vapor valves were installed.
Franklin schools plans to also install sub-slab depressurization systems at both schools that is expected to help lower the levels of PCE and TCE in the ground beneath the schools. Franklin Superintendent David Clendening said Monday it will likely cost more than $300,000.
Due to the cost, Franklin schools will have to go through its required purchasing procedures, which includes getting approval from the school board and seeking bids for the project, he said.
Betts said Wednesday school leaders are working with the school board and state to try to find a way to expedite that process. The next school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, and discussion of the depressurization systems is expected, she said.
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Last week, EnviroForensics collected 20 indoor air samples and 10 additional sub-slab samples at Needham Elementary, and 24 indoor air samples and seven additional sub-slab samples at Webb Elementary. EnviroForensics also screened all accessible floor drains and collected air samples from five floor drains at each school.
The indoor samples included eight-hour samples during school hours on March 23, followed by 24-hour samples on March 24 and 25. The results of all 44 indoor air samples showed no detection of PCE or TCE.
On March 20, Franklin schools received results from the sub-slab vapor sampling performed this winter at Needham and Webb elementary schools.
Those samples taken in early March at Webb Elementary showed significantly higher traces of TCE in the ground below the school, with the highest reading underneath a classroom on the northwest side of the building.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s recommended level for TCE is 70 micrograms per cubic meter. Three out of seven samples taken below Webb showed significantly higher levels of TCE — 849, 242 and 225 micrograms per cubic meter.
Two out of 10 samples taken below Needham showed levels ranging from 96 to 100 micrograms per cubic meter.
Students and staff at both schools had an e-Learning day on March 21, the last day before spring break. No other schools are believed to be at risk and are not being tested at this time.
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