news-record.com

Given what's at stake, Guilford County Schools can't leave any stone unturned in finding out what sickened students and faculty at Oak Ridge Elementary School.

Solving that riddle means going back to 2005 before the new and renovated school was fully opened. As a result, the school board is suing the contractor, Lyon Construction, alleging breach of contract.

Taking legal action may answer lingering concerns about construction and installation of equipment. Subsequent investigations have asked whether mold found in the school and air-quality problems can be blamed on how the school was built.

At the time, several members of a schools' review team questioned construction of the roof, which leaked, and the effectiveness of the HVAC system.

In retrospect, addressing those reservations more thoroughly back then before signing off on the project might have headed off some of the health-related issues that surfaced later.

The often-confusing answers have puzzled inconvenienced parents, students and faculty. The school system closed Oak Ridge in June and classes shifted to four temporary sites. That could last through the end of the year.

In the past, airings in court have produced varied results. Lyon sued Guilford County Schools in 2005 for failing to pay for work at Dudley High School and was awarded $425,000. Court-ordered mediation led to Lyon paying the schools $37,500 for work at Eastern Guilford Middle School.

So far, the four-year Oak Ridge enigma has exceeded $600,000 and could cost twice that amount, depending on what federal researchers conducting a detailed inspection find.

Armed with that data, the courts should be better able to figure out what went wrong and develop a timeline for who is responsible. Such costly answers are long overdue.