Sun Prairie High School

[Guest guest]

WISC Channel3000.com Thursday January 17 11:22 PM EST Sun Prairie School Contaminated With FungusMoldy schools aren't just a Madison issue. Now Sun Prairie High School is contaminated with fungus, News 3 reported. Sun Prairie school officials have been dealing with fungus and teacher health complaints for a over a year now. • Is Madison Ready For Anthrax? • Complete Coverage: American Fights Back • Recipes: Mr. Food, Donna Weihofen & More • Find A New Car For The New Year East Side Elementary looks fine from the outside, but there's an invisible invader lurking in its walls. News 3's Eggert has been investigating this situation and found that mold was cleaned up in a Sun Prairie elementary school last year; however, now mold cleanup is under way at two more schools. "It was on top of the ceiling tile," said principal Tom Yelich. "We had found some mold, and then from there, it kind of spread out." Now a barricade of plywood lines a hallway, blocking off a set of bathrooms. Crews have to come in and clean out the mold before students are allowed near the area. Air samples show a second set of bathrooms with mold in the walls is still safe, but has to be cleaned out, too. Last month school officials also found mold behind a wall in a fifth-grade classroom. A cleanup company got rid of it, and now repairs are under way. The fifth-graders, along with other students, were moved out even before tests came back. "It obviously takes time, but when you're worried about the health of staff and students, you make the move as fast as you can," Yelich said. Buildings and Grounds director Dick Silvers said student and teacher health is the district's No. 1 concern. However, one big puzzle remains: Why have 15 or so staff reported respiratory type health problems? Some teachers said some parts of the building have been sources of complaints for years. "My allergies had acted up quite a bit, and I was calling in sick a lot more than I am now," said high school foreign language teacher Bernie Schlafke, who moved into a new room this year because of health concerns. Now that he's out of the old room, he told News 3 that he feels fine. "One hundred percent -- I haven't been ill because of allergies all year," he said. High school staff are now being asked to fill out a survey to help officials pinpoint problem pockets. The district will have experts check them out. In the meantime, staff and managers both said everyone is doing all they can to stay on top of their invisible invader.