Burgettstown discusses sink problem

Burgettstown School Board members and administrators discussed Monday what to do about elementary school sinks that have standing water.
Board member Harry Sabatassi said he brought the matter to the attention of Superintendent Deborah Jackson, after someone told him about it. He said he visited the school with a witness and saw mold in the sinks.
However, board member Tom Repole said it’s not possible for there to be mold in sinks if they are used regularly, as the elementary sinks are.
Paul Kannenberg, Burgettstown building and grounds supervisor, said the sinks are cleaned nightly and all standing water removed. He said the sinks have been tested for mold and none has been found.
Principal Melissa Mankey said there are between 10 and 12 sinks in the third-grade wing and the first-grade wing that have the standing water problems. She said she was made aware of it in October. She said all of the sinks are operational.
Kannenberg said the standing water occurs because there was an error in the installation of the sinks when the school was built in the early 1990s.
“We looked for quick fixes and we can’t find any,” he said.
Kannenberg said repair options include lifting the sinks, which would make them higher for small children, or tearing out the plumbing and lowering it to the sink level.
President Merle Ayres suggested the district have a plumber look at the sinks and determine a price for the repair.