Video - Teachers Say They Got Sick From Moldy School

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Teachers Say They Got Sick From Moldy School

WESH.com - Winter Park,FL*

http://www.wesh.com/news/15114586/detail.html

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Some teachers at a Volusia County elementary

school said they've been sickened by mold and mildew.

They said the school jeopardized children's health by refusing to

admit the classrooms at Longstreet Elementary School have problems.

One teacher went to the doctor and two others filled out workers

compensation forms to get authorization to see a doctor but said

they were denied by the district.

The district started renovating the second-grade wing last May and

on Jan. 11, teachers who had been in portables with their students

moved in to their new classrooms, and that's when they noticed the

smell.

" In my children it's the red eyes, the runny noses, the use of

tissue after tissue, headaches, stomachaches, " said second-grade

teacher Blackburn.

Blackburn said after spending several days in her newly renovated

classroom, she and her students shared the same symptoms.

Judy Shubert, teaching second-graders next door, had to be relieved

of her duties.

" My throat had constricted to such a point that I had to call. I had

to get an emergency appointment, which I did receive a shot and some

meds in order to be able to breathe, " Shubert said.

The teachers, along with guidance counselor Bill Archer who helped

them move in to the classrooms, said they knew immediately something

bad was in the air.

" There was a horrendous smell. I opened all the windows and turned

on the fans, and otherwise you couldn't stay in there, " Archer said.

The teachers said they complained to the principal about the smell

early on and were repeatedly told it wasn't a problem and not to say

anything to school parents.

" If they moved in on a Friday and Saturday we had the complaint

Monday afternoon and we responded on Tuesday, " Drago, the

executive director of facilities for the district, said.

Drago said their was no cover-up and that environmentalists did a

deep bio-cleaning after finding mold in the carpet and on some of

the porous surfaces but they insist neither children or teachers

were ever in harm's way.

" We did not have a health concern or a health risk at any time. We

did have odors. We did have a presence of mold in the carpet. I will

tell you that's not a unique situation in Florida, but we did have a

rapid response to it, " Drago said.

The school district could not say whether the principal warned

teachers not to say anything, but they said that is not their method

of operation.

Since the situation arose, the school district said they have

decided to remove all materials in all of the second-grade

classrooms where mold could grow. They will replace all of it,

including the carpet.

The school district cited medical confidentiality as to the teachers

doctors' appointments.

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