WALL TOWNSHIP — Oral arguments were heard in state Superior Court in Freehold on June 15 in a suit filed by former Wall Central Elementary School student Luke Grasso against the Wall Township Board of Education [BOE].
The tort claim filed by Mr. Grasso’s attorney, Kristine Bergman, centers on the use of trailers as classrooms at Central Elementary School, beginning in 2007.
In May 2007, the Wall BOE approved the installation of two Temporary Class Units [TCUs] from the lowest responsible bidder, Mobilease, for $339,391, which was then later approved by the New Jersey Department of Education in June.
The trailers were removed after mold was discovered during repair work done in the summer of 2019. The school district’s handling of the matter has remained controversial.
In his suit, Mr. Grasso claimed that during the 2010-2011 school year he was “exposed to mold throughout the entirety of his fourth grade during all indoor classes held at one of the two Central School trailers,” resulting in “various medical conditions due to mold exposure including a tonsillectomy and a thyroidectomy.”
During the June 15 hearing, Judge David A. Notti denied a motion by the school board’s attorney, Erin Scanlan, to dismiss the claim, ruling that more factual evidence, including further depositions, are needed before the case can be fairly adjudicated.
Two trailers had housed four classrooms at Central Elementary School since 2007; deterioration was discovered during a siding repair project in the summer of 2019.
The Wall BOE meeting held on September 3, 2019, posted on the district’s YouTube account, deals with the internal administrative aftermath regarding Business Administrator Brian Smyth’s role in the trailer investigation. It is still available for public viewing online.
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