10.E) Amendment to the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year Budget - Pursuant to Section 15.2-2507 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as Amended, the Board of Supervisors will Hold a Public Hearing to Amend the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Budget to Reflect: School Construction Fund Supplemental Appropriation in the Amount of $12,020,000. This Amount Represents the Renovation of Indian Hollow Elementary School.
I live in the Back Creek District and I am writing to express my concerns about the condition of both the exterior and interior of Indian Hollow Elementary School. My children are nine years old and currently in fourth grade. While they are not physically attending school at this time, we hope that in August, they will be back in an Indian Hollow classroom for their last year of elementary school.
Indian Hollow Elementary school was built in 1988 and at 31 years of age, it is one of the oldest elementary schools in Frederick County. During the past five years that my children have been part of the Indian Hollow family, we have seen how the degradation associated with being an old building has affected our children and other students at school. Specifically, the heating and air conditioning does not always work and when it does, it does not heat or cool all areas of the school evenly. There were times over the past few years when I would have to send my children to school dressed in layers or with sweaters because of the inconsistency of the classroom temperature. The humidity is high throughout the school; so much so, that teachers are often not able to hang up art work or classroom decorations because they fall from walls or bulletin boards.
The latest identified need is related to the water and moisture seeping into the exterior walls of the school. Indian Hollow has moss growing on the outside of the building and could possibly have mold growing on the interior and exterior due to the moisture. The paint is popping and window frames are rusted. I am not an expert in building maintenance, but I do believe that water leaking into walls and leaky windows are both unhealthy and unsafe. Fixing this should be a top priority.
I urge you to advocate for my children and all the children and staff members of Indian Hollow Elementary by voting to support the funding request needed for renovations of our school.
Alana C. Burdick RN
I trust that before this hearing you have had the chance to tour the building for yourself as well as review the inspections and health/safety concerns that are currently affecting the children and have been for years. The school’s outer cinder block walls have moisture wicking into them causing mold and sometime foul odors. Many windows leak, the frames are rusting and this sometimes can be seen in some classrooms causing running stains down the walls. The building consistently has a high humidity level, much of the paint is bubbling and there is moss growing on the outside, which are all a result of the moisture in the cinder block walls. If the under lying structural issues are not corrected any cosmetic repairs will only mask the needed repairs and not return the building back to acceptable health and safety standards. The same moisture problems also add to failures with the HVAC system, although it is primarily the fact that the HVAC system is EOL/EOS (end of life or beyond life expectancy).
Repairs/renovations must be approved for Indian Hollow. As a parent of two children attending Indian Hollow I request that you vote to approve the funding needed to accomplish this.
Kind Regards,
Chris Burdick
I live in the Back Creek District and I am writing to express my concerns about the condition of both the exterior and interior of Indian Hollow Elementary School. My children are nine years old and currently in fourth grade. While they are not physically attending school at this time, we hope that in August, they will be back in an Indian Hollow classroom for their last year of elementary school.
Indian Hollow Elementary school was built in 1988 and at 31 years of age, it is one of the oldest elementary schools in Frederick County. During the past five years that my children have been part of the Indian Hollow family, we have seen how the degradation associated with being an old building has affected our children and other students at school. Specifically, the heating and air conditioning does not always work and when it does, it does not heat or cool all areas of the school evenly. There were times over the past few years when I would have to send my children to school dressed in layers or with sweaters because of the inconsistency of the classroom temperature. The humidity is high throughout the school; so much so, that teachers are often not able to hang up art work or classroom decorations because they fall from walls or bulletin boards.
The latest identified need is related to the water and moisture seeping into the exterior walls of the school. Indian Hollow has moss growing on the outside of the building and could possibly have mold growing on the interior and exterior due to the moisture. The paint is popping and window frames are rusted. I am not an expert in building maintenance, but I do believe that water leaking into walls and leaky windows are both unhealthy and unsafe. Fixing this should be a top priority.
I urge you to advocate for my children and all the children and staff members of Indian Hollow Elementary by voting to support the funding request needed for renovations of our school.
Alana C. Burdick RN
Dear FCVA Board of Supervisors,
I trust that before this hearing you have had the chance to tour the building for yourself as well as review the inspections and health/safety concerns that are currently affecting the children and have been for years. The school’s outer cinder block walls have moisture wicking into them causing mold and sometime foul odors. Many windows leak, the frames are rusting and this sometimes can be seen in some classrooms causing running stains down the walls. The building consistently has a high humidity level, much of the paint is bubbling and there is moss growing on the outside, which are all a result of the moisture in the cinder block walls. If the under lying structural issues are not corrected any cosmetic repairs will only mask the needed repairs and not return the building back to acceptable health and safety standards. The same moisture problems also add to failures with the HVAC system, although it is primarily the fact that the HVAC system is EOL/EOS (end of life or beyond life expectancy).
Repairs/renovations must be approved for Indian Hollow. As a parent of two children attending Indian Hollow I request that you vote to approve the funding needed to accomplish this.
Kind Regards,
Chris Burdick