Monday, February 07, 2022

SAHS Moldy Wrestling Mats and Environmental Justice: My request for civil, criminal and administrative investigation by EPA Office of Inspector General



I have today requested that the EPA Region 4 Environmental Justice and Children's Health Section make  a referral to the EPA Inspector General to investigate -- in a civil, criminal and administrative investigation -- the nature, structure and performance of our St. Johns County School Board on environmental justice and children's health issues, in particular its outrageous refusal to replace moldy wrestling team mats at St. Augustine High School, where mats are stored in j.v. showers, causing mold, resulting in illnesses.




-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov <holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov>; daphne.wilson@epamail.epa.gov <daphne.wilson@epamail.epa.gov>; lashon.blakely@epamail.epa.gov <lashon.blakely@epamail.epa.gov>
Cc: regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; cfrancisgriffin@gmail.com <cfrancisgriffin@gmail.com>; twistedbark@yahoo.com <twistedbark@yahoo.com>; David.Thayer@fldoe.org <David.Thayer@fldoe.org>; ocr.atlanta@ed.gov <ocr.atlanta@ed.gov>; ocr@ed.gov <ocr@ed.gov>; Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com <nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com>; patrick.snodgrass@stjohns.k12.fl.us <patrick.snodgrass@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; bill.mignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us <bill.mignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; jclark@firstcoastnews.com <jclark@firstcoastnews.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; tgray9937@comcast.net <tgray9937@comcast.net>; rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>; mspellman@sniffenlaw.com <mspellman@sniffenlaw.com>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjcfl.us <hconrad@sjcfl.us>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; mminer@stjohnsclerk.com <mminer@stjohnsclerk.com>; taxcollector@sjctax.us <taxcollector@sjctax.us>; voakes@votesjc.com <voakes@votesjc.com>; wfusco@votesjc.com <wfusco@votesjc.com>; wflowers@llw-law.com <wflowers@llw-law.com>; ralfbrookes@gmail.com <ralfbrookes@gmail.com>; jack@naplesandspencelaw.com <jack@naplesandspencelaw.com>; megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org <megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org>; comdsamora@cityofsab.org <comdsamora@cityofsab.org>; commengland@cityofsab.org <commengland@cityofsab.org>; comugeorge@cityofsab.org <comugeorge@cityofsab.org>; cometorres@cityofsab.org <cometorres@cityofsab.org>; comdrumrell@cityofsab.org <comdrumrell@cityofsab.org>; mroyle@cityofsab.org <mroyle@cityofsab.org>; lex@dhclawyers.com <lex@dhclawyers.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com <tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; reganj@bellsouth.net <reganj@bellsouth.net>; lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>; pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>; hamann@law.ufl.edu <hamann@law.ufl.edu>; ankersen@law.ufl.edu <ankersen@law.ufl.edu>; hudsonb@law.ufl.edu <hudsonb@law.ufl.edu>; angelo@law.ufl.edu <angelo@law.ufl.edu>; flournoy@law.ufl.edu <flournoy@law.ufl.edu>; little@law.ufl.edu <little@law.ufl.edu>; mills@law.ufl.edu <mills@law.ufl.edu>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Mon, Feb 7, 2022 4:01 pm
Subject: EPA OIG Referral for Civil, Criminal and Administrative Investigation of December 15, 2021 EPA COMPLAINT re: Environmental Justice and Children's Health: St. Augustine High School mold-contaminated wrestling mats -- environmental health hazard must be remedied. Now, please.@aol.com,pa

Dear Mr. Holtzclaw, Ms. Wilson and Ms. Blakely:
1. Would you please be so kind as to refer the complaint file to the EPA Inspector General for all suitable civil, criminal and administrative investigations of St. Johns County School Board?
2.  Respondent School Board appears guilty of environmental racism, discrimination and reckless endangerment of the students on the St. Augustine High School Wrestling Team, half of whom are people of color.
3. Our historically racist and segregated St. Johns County School District remains insouciant about moldy wrestling mats, environmental justice and children's health issues. 
4. Several SAHS wrestlers are suffering nosebleeds and medical sequelae of their exposure to moldy wrestling mats.
5. Half the SAHS wrestlers are people of color, and using EPA's environmental justice too, 40% of the people within miles of the school are low-income, higher than the state average.
6. It should make us all sick at heart to know that St. Augustine, Florida public school children are being made sick by willful blindness to toxic substances, misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance by St. Johns County School Board.
7. I look forward to a civil, criminal and administrative investigation of the St. Johns County School Board by our EPA Office of Inspector General.
8. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested here in St. Augustine in 1964.  While there has been progress, there is still propaganda supporting the racist Sheriff L.O. Davis on the Sheriff's website.  And the moldy mats remain in use several months after parents and students and I raised concerns. 
9. Concerns of several parents and all of the wrestling team members have been shared with EPA but ignored by the Respondent St. Johns County School Board.  
10. One parent, Mr. Gene Griffin; his son, the wrestling team captain, Mr. C.F Griffin; and I have all spoken to School Board meetings, without any interest in solving the problem.
11. The moldy mat problem is caused by the School Board irresponsibly storing wrestling mats in the j.v. showers, where they get wet. 
12. While Mr. Timothy Forson, the School Superintendent, falsely claimed that the showers were inoperable, wrestling team members and coaches spent some 90 minutes on November 8, 2021 removing mold.  His statement is thus "inoperative," in the immortal words of President Richard Nixon's spokesman, Ronald Ziegler about his false statements about the Watergate bujrglary.
13. There is no work order showing that the School Superintendent ever ordered the shower water supply be shut off, exploding the Superintendent's false claims.  
14. When Mr. Gene Griffin and I spoke to Respondent School Superintendent Mr. TIm Forson in person in after a December 9, 2021 redistricting meeting, he said "I'm done." He turned his back on me and walked away. This reflects the hostile working environment at the Respondent St. Johns County School Board toward student and citizen concerns about environmental justice and children's health issues.  (Date corrected).
15. The Respondent School Board refuses to place the matter on its agenda.  I just checked -- it is apparently not on tomorrow's School Board meeting agenda. Last month, a School Board member airily wrote that it was then too late to add anything to the agenda. But as Dr. King said, "it is always the right time to do the right thing."
16. Discriminatory School Superintendent Mr., Timothy Forson won't replace the moldy mats, at an admitted cost of only some $7,000 to $13,000 out of an annual budget exceeding $1.1 billion.
17. This is environmental racism threatening children's health and futures.  Our St. Johns County Commission Chair, Henry Dean told me that he "would not set foot on a mold-contaminated mat."  I have so informed the School Board and Superintendent.
18. Respondents strongly appear to have violated civil rights laws -- a continuing violation -- since the wrestlers and coaches spent 90 minutes removing mold from mats stored in showers on November 8, 2021.
19. It is time for the Rule of Law to be brought to protect the wrestlers at St. Augustine High School and to investigate the nature, structure and performance of the Respondent St. Johns County School Board on environmental justice and children's health issues.
20. Thank you for your outstanding work on environmental justice and children's health.
21. In the words of the equitable maxim, "Let justice be done though the heavens fall."
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084 
904-377-4998



-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov <holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov>; larizzar@sao7.org <larizzar@sao7.org>; short@aol.com <short@aol.com>
Cc: regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; cfrancisgriffin@gmail.com <cfrancisgriffin@gmail.com>; twistedbark@yahoo.com <twistedbark@yahoo.com>; David.Thayer@fldoe.org <David.Thayer@fldoe.org>; ocr.atlanta@ed.gov <ocr.atlanta@ed.gov>; ocr@ed.gov <ocr@ed.gov>; Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com <nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com>; patrick.snodgrass@stjohns.k12.fl.us <patrick.snodgrass@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; bill.mignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us <bill.mignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; jclark@firstcoastnews.com <jclark@firstcoastnews.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; tgray9937@comcast.net <tgray9937@comcast.net>; rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>; mspellman@sniffenlaw.com <mspellman@sniffenlaw.com>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjcfl.us <hconrad@sjcfl.us>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; mminer@stjohnsclerk.com <mminer@stjohnsclerk.com>; taxcollector@sjctax.us <taxcollector@sjctax.us>; voakes@votesjc.com <voakes@votesjc.com>; wfusco@votesjc.com <wfusco@votesjc.com>; wflowers@llw-law.com <wflowers@llw-law.com>; ralfbrookes@gmail.com <ralfbrookes@gmail.com>; jack@naplesandspencelaw.com <jack@naplesandspencelaw.com>; megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org <megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org>; comdsamora@cityofsab.org <comdsamora@cityofsab.org>; commengland@cityofsab.org <commengland@cityofsab.org>; comugeorge@cityofsab.org <comugeorge@cityofsab.org>; cometorres@cityofsab.org <cometorres@cityofsab.org>; comdrumrell@cityofsab.org <comdrumrell@cityofsab.org>; mroyle@cityofsab.org <mroyle@cityofsab.org>; lex@dhclawyers.com <lex@dhclawyers.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com <tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; reganj@bellsouth.net <reganj@bellsouth.net>; lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>; pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>; hamann@law.ufl.edu <hamann@law.ufl.edu>; ankersen@law.ufl.edu <ankersen@law.ufl.edu>; hudsonb@law.ufl.edu <hudsonb@law.ufl.edu>; angelo@law.ufl.edu <angelo@law.ufl.edu>; flournoy@law.ufl.edu <flournoy@law.ufl.edu>; little@law.ufl.edu <little@law.ufl.edu>; mills@law.ufl.edu <mills@law.ufl.edu>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Fri, Jan 14
, 2022 6:30 pm
Subject: December 15, 2021 EPA COMPLAINT re: Environmental Justice and Children's Health: St. Augustine High School mold-contaminated wrestling mats -- environmental health hazard must be remedied. Now, please.@aol.com,

Dear Mr. Holtzclaw:
1. This will confirm that the EPA EJ screening tool shows that some 40% of the 16,000 people living within two miles of St. Augustine High School are low-income -- higher than our Florida state average.  
2. About half of the members of the St. Augustine High School Wrestling Team are people of color.
3. The St. Johns County School Board has not replaced the contaminated mats. Its agents have made materially false or misleading statements to the Health Department, possible crimes that I have reported to law enforcement.  See attached, please. 
4. School officials made assurances to Health Department about students being healthy without ever checking with the students.
5. The moldy mats are stored in showers.  
6. There is no cover.  
7. On November 8, 2021, the SAHS Wrestling Team spent 90 minutes cleaning mold from the mats. Several of the team members now have respiratory problems.
8. Our St. Johns County Commission Chair -- environmental law expert I. Henry Dean, the former Executive Director of two (2) of five (5) Florida Water Management Districts -- is a former high school wrestler in Iowa, told me last month that he "would not set foot on a mold-contaminated wrestling mat." (Chairman Dean's best friend was our late beloved former EPA Regional Administrator John Henry Hankinson, Jr.) 
9. The facts are irrefragable. 
10. The moldy mats must be discarded and replaced instanter.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,



-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov <holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov>
Cc: regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; cfrancisgriffin@gmail.com <cfrancisgriffin@gmail.com>; twistedbark@yahoo.com <twistedbark@yahoo.com>; David.Thayer@fldoe.org <David.Thayer@fldoe.org>; ocr.atlanta@ed.gov <ocr.atlanta@ed.gov>; ocr@ed.gov <ocr@ed.gov>; Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com <nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com>; Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; bill.mignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us <bill.mignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; jclark@firstcoastnews.com <jclark@firstcoastnews.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; tgray9937@comcast.net <tgray9937@comcast.net>; rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>; mspellman@sniffenlaw.com <mspellman@sniffenlaw.com>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjcfl.us <hconrad@sjcfl.us>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; mminer@stjohnsclerk.com <mminer@stjohnsclerk.com>; taxcollector@sjctax.us <taxcollector@sjctax.us>; voakes@votesjc.com <voakes@votesjc.com>; wfusco@votesjc.com <wfusco@votesjc.com>; wflowers@llw-law.com <wflowers@llw-law.com>; ralfbrookes@gmail.com <ralfbrookes@gmail.com>; jack@naplesandspencelaw.com <jack@naplesandspencelaw.com>; megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org <megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org>; comdsamora@cityofsab.org <comdsamora@cityofsab.org>; commengland@cityofsab.org <commengland@cityofsab.org>; comugeorge@cityofsab.org <comugeorge@cityofsab.org>; cometorres@cityofsab.org <cometorres@cityofsab.org>; comdrumrell@cityofsab.org <comdrumrell@cityofsab.org>; mroyle@cityofsab.org <mroyle@cityofsab.org>; lex@dhclawyers.com <lex@dhclawyers.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com <tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; reganj@bellsouth.net <reganj@bellsouth.net>; lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>; pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>; hamann@law.ufl.edu <hamann@law.ufl.edu>; ankersen@law.ufl.edu <ankersen@law.ufl.edu>; hudsonb@law.ufl.edu <hudsonb@law.ufl.edu>; angelo@law.ufl.edu <angelo@law.ufl.edu>; flournoy@law.ufl.edu <flournoy@law.ufl.edu>; little@law.ufl.edu <little@law.ufl.edu>; mills@law.ufl.edu <mills@law.ufl.edu>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Fri, Jan 14, 2022 5:16 pm
Subject: Photos show mold test results re: December 15, 2021 EPA COMPLAINT re: Environmental Justice and Children's Health: St. Augustine High School mold-contaminated wrestling mats -- environmental health hazard must be remedied. Now, please.@aol.com,

image4.jpeg
image0-2.jpeg

image0-3.jpeg
Dear Mr. Holtzlaw:
Would you please be so kind as to associate these photos of mold in Petri dishes from St. Augustine High School Wrestling Team mats (stored in showers!) with the EPA file on my December 15, 2021 complaint to the Environmental Justice and Children's Health Section of EPA Region IV? 
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,



-----Original Message-----
From: Lee Griffin <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>
To: patrick.canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us; 'Paul Abbatinozzi' <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; 'Quinterrance J. Cooper' <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas L. Graham <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; 'Beverly Slough' <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; anthony.coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us; 'Tim Forson' <Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us>
Cc: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>; Steve Anderson <twistedbark@yahoo.com>; Lee Griffin <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; Conor Griffin <cfrancisgriffin@gmail.com>; 'Thayer, David' <David.Thayer@fldoe.org>
Sent: Fri, Jan 14, 2022 4:26 pm
Subject: FW: Photo 

!/14/2022
To those that it should concern.
These are pictures of  self mold inspection kits from HD with samples taken
by random SAHS wrestlers at school  Monday night, 1=10=2022.  One sample is
from in the pores in the bottom of the mat, one sampled gathered by rubbing
along the face of the bottom of the mat .  Both found in  a1square foot
sample.

You want that stuff in the petri dish on your child's tennis court? Their
soccer field?
Or better  bring the stuff  inside and rub it all over your child"s or
grandchild's  playrooms for 70 days straight.

If you do not remedy this problem by removing the mats to the trashcan
Monday.
Every person in the  To.. section above has been criminally negligent for
at least 70 days and should be dealt with accordingly.  Please do not
severely harm the good name of your fine institution by being headstrong.
Please get the boys off those mold infested mats.. by Monday. MLK Day.There
are many solutions.
Health of the boys first, always ,who could find fault with an institution
that solves hard problems fast.
Thanks
Gene

-----Original Message---
From: Lee Griffin <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2022 3:15 PM
Subject: Photo 








Thank you.



-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov <holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov>
Cc: ocr.atlanta@ed.gov <ocr.atlanta@ed.gov>; ocr@ed.gov <ocr@ed.gov>; Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com <nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com>; Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us <billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; jclark@firstcoastnews.com <jclark@firstcoastnews.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; tgray9937@comcast.net <tgray9937@comcast.net>; rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>; mspellman@sniffenlaw.com <mspellman@sniffenlaw.com>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjcfl.us <hconrad@sjcfl.us>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; mminer@stjohnsclerk.com <mminer@stjohnsclerk.com>; taxcollector@sjctax.us <taxcollector@sjctax.us>; voakes@votesjc.com <voakes@votesjc.com>; wfusco@votesjc.com <wfusco@votesjc.com>; wflowers@llw-law.com <wflowers@llw-law.com>; ralfbrookes@gmail.com <ralfbrookes@gmail.com>; jack@naplesandspencelaw.com <jack@naplesandspencelaw.com>; megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org <megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org>; comdsamora@cityofsab.org <comdsamora@cityofsab.org>; commengland@cityofsab.org <commengland@cityofsab.org>; comugeorge@cityofsab.org <comugeorge@cityofsab.org>; cometorres@cityofsab.org <cometorres@cityofsab.org>; comdrumrell@cityofsab.org <comdrumrell@cityofsab.org>; mroyle@cityofsab.org <mroyle@cityofsab.org>; lex@dhclawyers.com <lex@dhclawyers.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com <tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; reganj@bellsouth.net <reganj@bellsouth.net>; lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>; pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>; hamann@law.ufl.edu <hamann@law.ufl.edu>; ankersen@law.ufl.edu <ankersen@law.ufl.edu>; hudsonb@law.ufl.edu <hudsonb@law.ufl.edu>; angelo@law.ufl.edu <angelo@law.ufl.edu>; flournoy@law.ufl.edu <flournoy@law.ufl.edu>; little@law.ufl.edu <little@law.ufl.edu>; mills@law.ufl.edu <mills@law.ufl.edu>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Wed, Dec 15, 2021 9:12 pm
Subject: EPA COMPLAINT re: Environmental Justice and Children's Health: St. Augustine High School mold-contaminated wrestling mats -- environmental health hazard must be remedied. Now, please.

Dear Mr. Holtzclaw:
1. Pursuant to Title VI of our 1964 Civil Rights Act and  Environmental Justice Executive Orders 12898 and 14008, would you please be so kind as to assign EPA Region 4  Environmental Justice and Children's Health Section staff to investigate St. Johns County, Florida School Board and its invidious discrimination and dereliction of duty on moldy wrestling team mats at St. Augustine High School?  
2. I spoke to our County School Board meeting twice on December 14, 2021.
3. Untethered to truth, our School Superintendent, Mr. Timothy Forson, was at best elliptical in his belated response. On December 9, 2021, he said, "I'm done," refusing to answer questions or speak about mold science.  (See e-mails below).  On December 14, 2021, after I spoke at the School Board meeting, Mr. Forson pretended that the only issue were the age of the mats, rather than their mold contamination. Please watch the video, which includes his apparent flummery, dissembling, unscientific and misleading statements.
4. At the end of their December 14, 2021 School Board meeting, County Board members appeared to be visibly concerned as Superintendent Forson claimed that the SAHS shower in which the moldy mats in quo are stored is no longer used as a shower, and is now somehow a "dry room."  This claim is, at best, facetious. Incurious School Board members did not ask any questions of Mr. Forson after his solemn soliloquy. 
5. Wrestling team members spent some ninety (90) minutes cleaning mold off mats at their recent first wrestling practice on November 8, 2021.
6. This putrid procedure violated the student' civil and constitutional rights, and it violated EPA guidance documents on mold. Please have your staff investigate this toxic mold exposure and discrimination (which some might consider child abuse), at the hands of incompetent, insouciant, ineffectual school administrators.  St. Johns County Schools are playing "Scrooge" with children's environmental health and futures.  This toxic environment is indefensible, and must be ended at once.
7. Respondent St. Johns County School Board must remove and replace the moldy mats during the Christmas break, with instructions to staff to store new wrestling new mats in a cool dry place, not in showers.
8. Please ask our EPA R4 EJ and Children's Health Section staff to assist Respondent this week in understanding EPA guidance on toxic mold. 
9. If Respondent refuses to comply tomorrow, would EPA please make suitable referrals for USDOJ and Department of Eduction for prompt action, to include civil, criminal and administrative investigations?
10. You and your staff can watch the remarkable December 14, 2021 St. Johns County School Board video here: 
https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/news/sjcsb-meeting-dec-14-2021/
at 44:09 (Ed Slavin), 1:34:30 (Ed Slavin), and 1:43:40 (St. Johns County School Superintendent Mr. Timothy Forson).
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,



-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us>
Cc: regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov <holtzclaw.brian@epamail.epa.gov>; nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com <nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com>; Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us <billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; jclark@firstcoastnews.com <jclark@firstcoastnews.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; tgray9937@comcast.net <tgray9937@comcast.net>; rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjcfl.us <hconrad@sjcfl.us>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; mminer@stjohnsclerk.com <mminer@stjohnsclerk.com>; taxcollector@sjctax.us <taxcollector@sjctax.us>; voakes@votesjc.com <voakes@votesjc.com>; wfusco@votesjc.com <wfusco@votesjc.com>; wflowers@llw-law.com <wflowers@llw-law.com>; ralfbrookes@gmail.com <ralfbrookes@gmail.com>; jack@naplesandspencelaw.com <jack@naplesandspencelaw.com>; megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org <megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org>; comdsamora@cityofsab.org <comdsamora@cityofsab.org>; commengland@cityofsab.org <commengland@cityofsab.org>; comugeorge@cityofsab.org <comugeorge@cityofsab.org>; cometorres@cityofsab.org <cometorres@cityofsab.org>; comdrumrell@cityofsab.org <comdrumrell@cityofsab.org>; mroyle@cityofsab.org <mroyle@cityofsab.org>; lex@dhclawyers.com <lex@dhclawyers.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com <tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; jregan@aol.com <jregan@aol.com>; reganj@bellsouth.net <reganj@bellsouth.net>; lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>; pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Fri, Dec 10, 2021 10:51 am
Subject: Environmental Justice and Children's Health: St. Augustine High School mold-contaminated wrestling mats -- environmental health hazard must be remedied.  Now, please.

Dear Dr. Forson:

  1. Article IX, Section 1 of our Florida Constitution relates to public education and provides that “[t]he education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders. Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education . . . “. That is, Florida school children are constitutionally guaranteed a safe and secure school.
  2. Article I, Section 24 of our Florida Constitution make access to government records a constitutional right.
  3. You as our St. Johns County School Superintendent have failed to act on mold-contaminated wrestling mats used by St. Augustine High School Wrestling Team, which is 1/3 African-American.
  4. Your refusal to speak respectfully to Mr. Griffin and me December 9, 2021 after the redistricting meeting is consistent with prior bad acts of a mismanaged school system that has repeatedly violated constitutional rights, remedied by federal courts in school desegregation, transgender bathroom and compelled religious song-singing cases.  The facts established in all of these cases embarrass our County and its citizens, and show the school system's contempt for the Rule of Law
  5. Mr. Griffin and I both spoke with our School Board Chairman Patrick Canan after the redistricting meeting.
  6. Mr. Canan told me he will be reading the EPA guidance document on mold. 
  7. You said December 9, 2021 that removing and replacing the mats would be "inappropriate," never denying the mold-contaminated wrestling mats had been stored in showers.
  8. You have never denied that a threat that was made to the cancel the season if mats were removed and replaced.
  9. You told me "I'm done."  
  10. You were unfriendly, lacking in empathy, acting like an unhappy energumen who refuses to answer questions or explain his actions on environmental health issues.  
  11. You lack.a welcoming spirit to inquiry and scientific discussion about environmental health. 
  12. You would not engage in any science-based discussion of mold contamination.
  13. You were insouciant, impolite, unkind and uncouth, acting like one of those authoritarian Appalachian "school dictators" that Harry Caudill wrote about in Night Comes to the Cumberlands. 
  14. This is not a good look for our St. Johns County School Board.  
  15. On a day when President Biden convened an international conference on preserving democracy, you showed contempt for democracy and our Florida Constitutional Right to Know.  See Florida Constitution, Article I, Section 24.  
  16. You acted like an angry, intolerant cognitive miser,
  17. There is no excuse for your unscientific and condescending hostility, 
  18. There is no excuse for your Jim Crow or Apartheid or Third World bad attitude shown toward St. Augustine High School and its Wrestling Team,
  19. You literally turned your back and walked away from  concerns about environmental health concerns affecting African-American student wrestlers.
  20. This is the poorest high school in St. Johns County.
  21. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said St. Johns County was the "most lawless" in America.
  22. The 1971 consent decree could be reviewed and revived if discrimination persists.
  23. Expecting SAHS Wrestling Team to practice on mold-contamianted mats is indefensible.  and most be ended at once.
  24. EPA and Department of Education Office for Civil Rights can determine that this violates Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and raises Environmental Justice concerns under Executive Orders 12898 and 14008, 
  25. I spoke with our EPA Region IV Environmental Justice and Children's Health Section Chief in Atlanta and have shared this e-mail with him.
  26. Please speak to legal counsel, and Chairman Canan and meet with us to discuss resolution.
  27. Your stating "I'm done" and walking away showed a lack of professional courtesy. manners, conscience and character.
  28. "Character Counts," as St. Johns County School system teachea students in every grade.
  29. No public educational institution should be "run as a dictatorship," as my mother once wrote her New Jersey county college president on behalf of her secretaries' union.
  30. Kindly remove and replace the mold-contaminated mats instanter.
  31. Please answer my questions (below) today.
  32. Kindly provide the requested documents today.
  33. Our St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners Chairman, I. Henry Dean, is an environmental lawyer and former state government environmental official with four decades of experience, including work for five Governors.  Chairman Dean was a high school wrestler in Iowa. Chairman Dean told me that he "would not set foot" on a mold-contaminated wrestling mat. 
  34. Would you wrestle on these mats, Dr. Forson?  
  35. Why should any student ever again be asked to wrestle on mold-contaminated mats that are stored in showers?
  36. Florida students have a right to safe schools, which you are violating every single day at SAHS.  Florida Constitution, Article IX, Section 1.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,



--


-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us>
Cc: regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com <nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com>; Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us <billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; jclark@firstcoastnews.com <jclark@firstcoastnews.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; tgray9937@comcast.net <tgray9937@comcast.net>; rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjcfl.us <hconrad@sjcfl.us>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; mminer@stjohnsclerk.com <mminer@stjohnsclerk.com>; taxcollector@sjctax.us <taxcollector@sjctax.us>; voakes@votesjc.com <voakes@votesjc.com>; wfusco@votesjc.com <wfusco@votesjc.com>; wflowers@llw-law.com <wflowers@llw-law.com>; ralfbrookes@gmail.com <ralfbrookes@gmail.com>; jack@naplesandspencelaw.com <jack@naplesandspencelaw.com>; megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org <megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org>; comdsamora@cityofsab.org <comdsamora@cityofsab.org>; commengland@cityofsab.org <commengland@cityofsab.org>; comugeorge@cityofsab.org <comugeorge@cityofsab.org>; cometorres@cityofsab.org <cometorres@cityofsab.org>; comdrumrell@cityofsab.org <comdrumrell@cityofsab.org>; mroyle@cityofsab.org <mroyle@cityofsab.org>; lex@dhclawyers.com <lex@dhclawyers.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com <tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; jregan@aol.com <jregan@aol.com>; reganj@bellsouth.net <reganj@bellsouth.net>; lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>; pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Wed, Dec 8, 2021 9:41 am
Subject: Re: St. Augustine High School mold-contaminated wrestling mats -- environmental health hazard must be remedied. Now, please.

Dear Dr. Foreson:
1. When will the mold-contaminated SAHS wrestling mats be replaced?
2. Please send purchase order documents today. 
3. No more disrespect, delays or disdain are desired or required.  
4. Have you seen photos?  
5. Have you personally gone to SAHS and inspected the mats? 
6. Have you evaluated or corrected our School Board staff's  unresponsiveness and hauteur?
7. We look forward to speaking with you tomorrow morning after our decennial redistricting special meeting.  Perhaps we can have coffee with you.
8. Please respond today to the specific points in my e-mail today, below, e.g., re: removal and replacement of the mold-contaminated mats, improper storage of mats in showers, need for system-side training and workshop on understanding, preventing and abating environmental health hazards. 
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,



-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Forson <Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us>
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Cc: regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; Patrick Canan <Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com <nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com>; Beverly Slough <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Tony E. Coleman <Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us <billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Kelly D. Barrera <Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Paul Abbatinozzi <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Quinterrance J. Cooper <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas L. Graham <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; jclark@firstcoastnews.com <jclark@firstcoastnews.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; Frank Upchurch <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; tgray9937@comcast.net <tgray9937@comcast.net>; rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; C Whitehurst <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; P Waldron <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; J Blocker <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; H Dean <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjcfl.us <hconrad@sjcfl.us>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; mminer@stjohnsclerk.com <mminer@stjohnsclerk.com>; taxcollector@sjctax.us <taxcollector@sjctax.us>; voakes@votesjc.com <voakes@votesjc.com>; wfusco@votesjc.com <wfusco@votesjc.com>; wflowers@llw-law.com <wflowers@llw-law.com>; ralfbrookes@gmail.com <ralfbrookes@gmail.com>; jack@naplesandspence.com <jack@naplesandspence.com>; megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org <megan.wall@jaxlegalaid.org>; comdsamora@cityofsab.org <comdsamora@cityofsab.org>; commengland@cityofsab.org <commengland@cityofsab.org>; comugeorge@cityofsab.org <comugeorge@cityofsab.org>; cometorres@cityofsab.org <cometorres@cityofsab.org>; comdrumrell@cityofsab.org <comdrumrell@cityofsab.org>; mroyle@cityofsab.org <mroyle@cityofsab.org>; lex@dhclawyers.com <lex@dhclawyers.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com <tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Wed, Dec 8, 2021 8:46 am
Subject: Re: St. Augustine High School mold-contaminated wrestling mats -- environmental health hazard must be remedied. Now, please.

Dear Mr. Slavin,
The concern regarding the SAHS wrestling mats have been addressed by the school and district staff. Any requests for information by Mr. Griffin will be processed in a reasonable time frame. 
Sincerely,
Tim

From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 8, 2021 6:18:49 AM
To: Tim Forson <Tim.Forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us>
Cc: regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>; Patrick Canan <Patrick.Canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com <nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com>; Beverly Slough <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Tony E. Coleman <Tony.Coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us <billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Kelly D. Barrera <Kelly.Barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Paul Abbatinozzi <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Quinterrance J. Cooper <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas L. Graham <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; jclark@firstcoastnews.com <jclark@firstcoastnews.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; Frank Upchurch <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; tgray9937@comcast.net <tgray9937@comcast.net>; rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; C Whitehurst <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; P Waldron <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; J Blocker <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; H Dean <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjcfl.us <hconrad@sjcfl.us>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; mminer@stjohnsclerk.com <mminer@stjohnsclerk.com>; taxcollector@sjctax.us <taxcollector
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Subject: St. Augustine High School mold-contaminated wrestling mats -- environmental health hazard must be remedied. Now, please.
 
 
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Dear Dr. Forson:
1. Would you as our St. Johns County School Superintendent please be so kind as to remove and replace the mold-contaminated wrestling mats at St. Augustine High School on an expedited, urgent, emergency basis?
2. Mr. Gene Griffin is the father of one of the wrestling team members subjected to this hazardous condition.  You have his photos.  You have his Open Records requests. Please provide him with all requested documents by close of business today.
3. I am hoping that Mr. Griffin might be free to attend the joint special School Board meeting on decennial redistricting with our County Commission tomorrow morning, December 9, 2021, and to speak with you and me after the meeting adjourns.
4. Please arrange for system-wide training for all responsible school personnel on the urgency of understanding, preventing and abating environmental health hazards.
5. Please arrange for a future School Board workshop on understanding, preventing and abating environmental health hazards.
6. I am sure that you, our School Board and learned counsel will all agree that it is a breach of the applicable standard of care to store wrestling mats in showers.  As it is irrefragable that wrestling mats are being stored in showers, someone, somehow, somewhere has been negligent.
7. Please see that wrestling mats are no longer stored in showers, from this day forward. 
Happy holidays!
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am, 



-----Original Message-----
From: Lee Griffin <regriffinconstr@bellsouth.net>
To: tim.forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us; 'Paul Abbatinozzi' <Paul.Abbatinozzi@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; 'Quinterrance J. Cooper' <Quinterrance.Cooper@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; Dearmas L. Graham <Dearmas.Graham@stjohns.k12.fl.us>
Cc: patrick.canan@stjohns.k12.fl.us; nicole.cubbage@stjohns.k12.fl.com; 'Beverly Slough' <Beverly.Slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us>; anthony.coleman@stjohns.k12.fl.us; billmignon@stjohns.k12.fl.us; kelly.barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us; Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Dec 7, 2021 9:14 pm
Subject: moldy mats at first day of practice at st augustine highschool

12-7-2021
Folks,
Take a good look at the moldy mats above, would you exercise on them?
 
Nothing has happened to the moldy mats since the first day of wrestling practice. This is a gross intentional violation  of EPA guidelines.
Does any of you take responsibility for my child’s or his teammates health as they rub their bodies all  over these nasty , mold ridden mats gathering mold spore by mold spore every practice?
 
What is the matter with you people?
 
 
Now it is public record that st Augustine HS has moldy mats stored in showers. ( NAME ONE OTHER HIGH SCHOOL IN THE NATION DOES THIS?)  There is no excuses now pretending  like these moldy mats do not exist or that moldy mats stored in showers is common practice.
 
Lord stonewall tried to stare/bully  me down, he was put in his place. Take a look at the pictures Lord, that will clear up your confusion concerning the moldy mats
 
GET RID OF THE MOLDY MATS
 
Your lack of concern for the health and safety of your students particularly my boy is an embarrassment for your school district.
TRASH THE MOLDY MATS!
YESTERDAY.
 
 
Is there anyone in a position of power in your school district that cares?
DO SOMETHING.
Gene




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