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OAK RIDGE — School officials told parents and staff of Oak Ridge Elementary School they need help to figure out what is making students and staff sick at the school.

In a meeting Wednesday night with local and state health officials, parents and staff told of students whose noses and eyes bleed and who get migraines and suffer from sinus and respiratory infections. One teacher held up medical records showing that he tested positive for toxic mold exposure.

The complaints began in 2005 after renovations and additions were completed on the school. Mold has been found at the school twice in the past four years.

The school system reports spending nearly $600,000 addressing mold and other issues at the school. The system spent nearly $400,000 installing a dehumidification system four years ago. This month, carpet found to have mold was removed from several classrooms.

Leo Bobadilla, Guilford County Schools’ chief operations officer, said tests have been done and issues have been addressed. At this point, workers can’t find any other issues, he said.

“As far as we know, there is not an issue here,” Bobadilla said.
Schools Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green said he thinks there is an issue at the school but the school system needs outside help identifying it. He told the parents he has not seen anything to persuade him to close the school early, despite requests from them to do so.

“At this point I am looking for more information myself,” Green said. “At this point I am not recommending to the (school) board that this school be closed.”

School board member Darlene Garrett, whose district includes Oak Ridge Elementary, said she believes there is something at the school making people sick but she will not recommend closing it early to the school board.

Several parents have already pulled their children out of the school. Last year, 27 students were withdrawn from the school. This year, 15 have been withdrawn, though the school system does not keep specific records on students’ reasons for leaving.

Faculty members say they are paying a high price to keep teaching there. Mark Potter, who twice has been named teacher of the year at Oak Ridge in his four years there, says he has tested positive for toxic mold exposure. He is thinking about leaving the school.

“This raises big questions for me, if I’m going to be here next year,” Potter said.

Potter said he went to the doctor after having insomnia, rashes and headaches. Like many at the meeting, he said officials said nothing to instill confidence that the issue would be resolved.

Parent Damita Watkin Amick said she understands other parents’ frustrations. But finding the problem is proving difficult, she said, and the community needs to be patient.

“I just think there are too many variables to expect a quick, five-minute fix tonight,” she said.

The school system has teamed with health officials from county and state health departments to address the issue. Dr. Ward Robinson, medical director with the Guilford County Department of Public Health, told the parents and teachers his office is investigating the problems. But mold, he said, is not the problem.

Parents asked Robinson if he thought it was safe for people to be at the school.

“I don’t know how to answer that because I don’t know what the problem is,” Robinson said.

Robinson said his team will meet this morning to discuss what steps to take next.

Parents also expressed frustration with what they described as a lack of leadership on the issue and asked Green to take ownership. Green said he owns every issue in the school system and once health officials make recommendations the district will act on them.
They also said the issue was made worse when workers failed to properly seal off classrooms when removing the moldy carpet last week. Bobadilla flatly denied this, which enraged some in the audience.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com