Mould forces closure of school portables

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Mould forces closure of school portables: CTV

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Inspectors have found mould growing inside portables at a Toronto

elementary school, and the dangerous fungus will keep the facilities

closed for the rest of the school year, CTV News has learned.

The nearly 200 students who use the portables at St. Augustine of

Canterbury Catholic School, in the Jane Street and Steeles Avenue

area, were moved into makeshift classrooms inside the school gym and

library last week.

A letter was sent home with students explaining the health concerns,

but parents who have been lobbying to do away with the portables are

upset and worried.

" We hear a lot about kids that are ill and that have become more ill

since they've been in that portable, " said Cleary-De Santis,

who has two children attending the school.

" I don't know for fact, but I'm sure we're going to find that

there's going to be people who have become ill over this. "

Cleary-De Santis, who chairs the Catholic School Advisory Council,

has been fighting to have portables removed from schools for a

decade.

" It was supposed to be a temporary solution 40 years ago, " she said.

Sonya Suarez's son has been studying inside the 40-year-old

portables since last September. Inspectors found the largest

concentration of mould in the boys washroom, which has been sealed.

" He goes there everyday, and sometimes you don't know why they are

coughing, " Suarez said.

Constructing makeshift classrooms inside the gym and library was the

most logical solution for the time being, said principal

Iamundo.

" We are looking basically until the end of June -- it's a relatively

short-term period and we're going to try and accommodate here

because the alternative would be to move them to another location, "

he said.

Concerned parents plan to attend a board meeting on Wednesday night

to demand an extension be built at the school. They also want the

portables removed permanently.

Less portables being used

The number of portables at schools is on the decline, but they are a

fixture for most school boards, including Toronto's separate and

public boards.

The Catholic board had more than 800 of them 10 years ago. Today,

that number is closer to 550. The public board also is removing the

structures at a similar rate.

But the case incident at St. Augustine of Canterbury highlights the

problems surrounding portables.

" It's a wakeup call for boards across the province, " said

Noble, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation.

Noble says school boards treat mould more seriously than decades

ago, but maintains parents should still watch for signs that their

children may be exposed.

" Parents know their kids -- when their kids come home with headaches

and blurry eyes, and runny noses, those kinds of things, those are

signals that something may be amiss, " she said.

Health officials say if children experience flu-like symptoms that

seem to go away on the weekends, there may be a problem at school.

Toronto's school boards say the problems that came with the old,

wooden portables are gone since they've being replaced by modern

units with steel siding.

The board also has independent contractors inspect all portables for

mould every year.

For those who want more information on the health concerns

surrounding mould, click here.

With reports from CTV's Galit and Austin Delaney