Pinelands Regional Super To Resign Amid Construction Chaos

LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ -Pinelands Regional Interim Superintendent Maryann Banks will resign effective Dec. 15, according to a report on app.com.

The Board of Education accepted Banks' resignation on Monday night. Her resignation comes in the wake of a faulty construction project that led to the closing of Pinelands Regional High School and left district students attending the Junior High School on split sessions this fall.

Banks earned $670 per day as interim superintendent, for a maximum possible salary of $174,689 for the 2017-18 school year. She already has a monthly state pension of $10,152 from Vineland Public Schools, according to the report.

The district's problems began shortly after school opened, when students began complaining of odors and dust during an ongoing roof replacement project.

Epic Environmental told school officials in a Sept. 11 letter that asbestos debris was discovered in the high school roof, and that debris could enter the school and "cause safety hazards and air quality issues."

Epic recommended that the debris be removed and rooftop construction stop until a remedy was found. The company also advised school officials to close affected portions of the school while the roofing project was ongoing.

But there was no evidence that airborne asbestos contamination was present in the building, the Epic report said.

"Construction activities will continue to deteriorate the debris and will cause safety hazards and air quality issues," the Epic report said. "Based on previous data, asbestos contamination inside the building is not expected during this process."

The district kept the high school open until early October, when a roof screw fell on a student.

"Hindsight is 20/20, but at the time with the information we had we made the best decision we could," Business Administrator Stephen Brennan told the audience at an Oct. 30 board meeting. Brennan said the school was opened Sept. 7 based on an August report from Epic Environmental the school was asbestos-free.

But school officials later learned that the high school had asbestos in the roof and on a school playground. Newer test results also showed that Chrysotile, a form of asbestos, was also found in two samples taken from the school's perimeter, according to the report.

That discovery put an end to using the high school fields for sports and other activities.

To read the app.com story, click here

Logo: Courtesy of Pinelands Regional High School