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GREENSBORO — News that Oak Ridge Elementary School will reopen Feb. 22 was met with mixed reviews at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Guilford County Board of Education.

Melissa Malone said she will not feel comfortable until the results of ongoing monitoring of indoor air quality at the school are made available. Malone’s two children have attended Oak Ridge; her youngest will return in February.

“It’s a stressful and traumatic time,” she said. “Each parent has to decide what they can live with.”

Malone’s son, like many other students and teachers, became very ill while at the school. His mother said he had nose bleeds nearly every day.

Parents will have a chance to tour the school on Jan. 31.

Frederick McKnight, a representative with Turner Building Science and Design, said testing has been done to ensure that moisture and mold levels are within acceptable ranges.

Monitoring will continue after the school reopens. Additional monitoring will be done to ensure the heating and air-conditioning system is working properly.

Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green closed the school in June to address concerns about indoor air quality. This fall, students and teachers were split up and sent to four locations for classes while work at the school continued.

Oak Ridge Elementary employees and students had complained of illnesses since the building opened in 2005 after undergoing major renovations and additions.

No group that has inspected the school, including the county health department, has definitively linked mold found there to the illnesses reported.

During the summer, school officials brought in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as well as Turner to inspect the school. Both groups found mold and dampness.

The occupational safety agency considers dampness a public health problem that requires remediation. The Turner group made numerous recommendations to address issues with the school and has overseen the repairs.

The district has earmarked nearly $1.6 million since 2008 to address the problems. The $1.6 million figure includes a proposal to transfer $550,000 available from previous bond projects to Oak Ridge.

The final total isn’t in yet, as work continues, and students and teachers haven’t moved back in. It also does not include the amount spent since 2005 to address issues at the school.

To pay for the remaining work and cost overruns, Sharon Ozment, the district’s chief financial officer, proposes using $413,000 in local funding originally allocated to make up for a state budget shortfall in technology funding. The state has since provided that funding.

Shelly Headen is relieved her three daughters will return to the elementary school.

“I feel like the kids are getting to go to the cleanest school in the state,” she said.

Headen said the issue has been difficult for the Oak Ridge community, and she hopes the school reopening will help heal those wounds. “I hope that we can heal. It’s been devastating for everyone,” she said.

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