Suit refiled in W. Carrollton air-quality dispute

February 4, 2002

More teachers join litigation

By andria Dietz

News Service

WEST CARROLLTON | A lawsuit against the West Carrollton school district,

claiming that school building conditions are causing people to become ill,

has been refiled in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

Three teachers - Googash, Carolyn McMillen and Toni Craig - said that

working in school buildings left them sick and unable to do their jobs.

The complaint, originally filed Aug. 27, was withdrawn after the school

board argued that the teachers improperly sued the school district and the

board members. The board's motion stated that a lawsuit cannot be brought

against the board, based on the principle of sovereign immunity.

After that, the teachers dropped the lawsuit, saying they would adjust the

language of the lawsuit and refile it.

On Wednesday, the same day of the town meeting the West Carrollton district

was conducting to discuss air-quality concerns in the district's buildings,

the lawsuit was refiled in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, this time

with five additional plaintiffs.

Googash, McMillen and Craig still are listed as plaintiffs, along with

, Kim Pickle, iel Pickle, Smaus and Smaus.

Defendants are listed as the West Carrollton Board of Education, school

Superintendent Rusty Clifford and the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

Clifford said that he had not reviewed the lawsuit.

The teachers' attorney, Trainor of Covington, Ky., could not be

reached for comment.

Parents' protests, teachers' complaints and a walk-out by students led to

Wednesday night's meeting, for which school officials invited experts to

talk with residents about how indoor air quality is a growing health

problem, not just in West Carrollton, but across the country.

West Carrollton residents and students have said they believe mold in the

high school from excessive moisture is one possible cause of their health

problems. The experts called in say mold is only one of a number of

irritants in schools, homes and at work that can make it difficult for some

people to breathe and cause headaches and other illnesses.

[From the Dayton Daily News: 01.26.2002]

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