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GREENSBORO — Environmental problems seem to haunt the staff and students of Oak Ridge Elementary School everywhere they go.

School officials decided Friday they would not use one of two buildings the system was to lease at Oak Ridge Military Academy this fall because of possible environmental and indoor air quality issues there.

This means classes for Oak Ridge Elementary, which is not due to open in the fall because of air-quality issues, will be held at four alternative locations instead of three.

Nora Carr , Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green’s chief of staff , said school officials were told by several people – including a former employee familiar with the military school’s facilities – about conditions there.

This week, the school system hired an industrial hygienist to inspect the two buildings the school system planned to use.
That inspection found problems at both buildings, but the issues at the Cone building were considered so severe they probably could not be addressed by Aug. 25, the start of public school.

Angelo Kidd, the regional superintendent responsible for Oak Ridge Elementary, said the problems in the Cone building included a leak in the basement and “dusty, musty smell.”
 

Kidd said the hygienist recommended not using the building.

School system officials said they inspected Oak Ridge Military Academy prior to leasing the space. But Carr said that it was a visual inspection only. She said the school system did not consider it necessary to inspect the facilities beyond that.

 “That would be beyond what I think would be considered reasonable protocol,” she said.

Fourth- and fifth-grade classes will now be held in mobile units on the shared campus of Northwest middle and high schools.

 Work needs to be done in the other classroom building at the military academy – installing carpeting in one room that had been removed because of water damage.

But school officials said it should be completed in time for second- and third-grade classes to be held there.

The leasing agreement with the military academy was $27,000 per month . Kidd said the school system will submit a new contract for $24,400 per month.

The military academy is undergoing major restructuring this summer to deal with financial problems. The school still owes employees and creditors money but has 80 students enrolled for this fall.

Reginald Ponder, a consultant hired to guide the military academy through the restructuring, said his school will clean the Cone building and use it. “The building hasn’t been cleaned because we haven’t had any custodial personnel on site in two months. We plan to clean it before our students arrive in a month,” he said.

He said the altered contract should not seriously affect the school’s financial recovery efforts.

Problems were also found at Colfax Elementary, where Oak Ridge kindergarten and first-grade classes will be held. Kidd said those problems, mainly a drainage issue with an air conditioner, can be addressed before students and staff move in.

Prekindergarten classes will be held at Pearce Elementary.

Oak Ridge Elementary has been closed to the public and staff since mid-June because of environmental health concerns.
The district established a committee of parents, teachers and system administrators to identify possible sites to hold classes this fall, should the school be deemed unfit for use.

Students and employees at the elementary school have complained since 2005 of various illnesses, including bloody noses and headaches.

The school system has spent nearly $600,000 since 2005 attempting to find and address what might be causing the illnesses.

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