New School to Open after Other
Demolished
Because of Mold
August 25, 2003 9:10 am.
wbnc.com
FAIRFIELD, Conn. --
More than two years after mold caused an elementary school to be closed
and later demolished, a new replacement school is set to open for area
students.
Fairfield's Board of
Education shut McKinley Elementary School
in October 2002, after high levels of mold in the building were believed
to make students and staff sick. Storm water that came through the
school's roof while it was under repair in the summer of 2002 is believed
to have caused the mold problem.
Attempts were made to
renovate the building, but the decision to knock down the building and
start over was made after angry parents confronted the Board of Education.
The school was demolished last summer.
Now, a new, $23 million
McKinley Elementary School
will open for students Sept. 5. A ribbon cutting for the school is
scheduled for Thursday.
"I think having a
gorgeous, permanent new home certainly is a milestone for the McKinley
community," McKinley Principal Paul Toaso said. "It's just a beautiful
facility."
McKinley's problems were
an extreme example of the problems mold and other irritants can cause for
schools. In Litchfield, a mother is suing the superintendent of schools
and the local school board, claiming that poor air quality, mold and
dampness in school made her daughter sick.
This year, a group of
teachers and parents, led by a former McKinley teacher who was severely
sickened by the mold in the school, pressured the Connecticut legislature
to pass a bill aimed at improving the air quality in school buildings. The
law requires school districts to better maintain heating, ventilation and
air conditioning systems.
The new law also requires
local school boards to conduct environmental assessments for proposed
school construction sites as well as evaluate any renovation projects for
air quality. |