news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Nearly three months after the reopening of Oak Ridge Elementary, there are few complaints of illness and enrollment is up.

The school reopened Feb. 22 after being closed for nearly nine months while the district attempted to address concerns surrounding indoor air quality. Students and employees had complained of mold and illnesses at the school since 2005 after the school underwent renovations and additions.

There have been 22 reports filed at the school about illnesses and other facilities concerns since the school reopened. Those include complaints about dry throats, headaches and nosebleeds.

The school district attributes these symptoms to allergy season, saying the issues appear no worse at Oak Ridge than at any other elementary school of comparable size in the district.

Since reopening, 10 more students have enrolled at Oak Ridge and one student has withdrawn. One teacher has requested a transfer, according to district officials.

Heather Champion’s two sons are back in the school. Champion said most of the parents she knows are happy to be back and haven’t seen any health problems.

“I’d say that most everybody is satisfied and hopes that it truly is behind us,” she said.

This fall, students and teachers were split up and sent to four locations for classes while work at the school continued.

Angelo Kidd, the regional superintendent whose district includes Oak Ridge, said officials believe they have addressed the issues discovered by teams from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the engineering firm Turner Building Science and Design.

“We’ve done so much in taking care of the areas that were listed for remediation,” Kidd said.

Work at the school included removing carpeting and replacing it with vinyl tile, installing a vapor barrier in the school’s basement and indoor-air testing, among other things.

Health officials say mold can cause health problems for people with existing conditions such as allergies and respiratory problems such as asthma. However, the teams did not directly link mold or other issues, like dampness or less-than-preferred air circulation found at the school, to illnesses reported by employees and families.

Amy Pritchett teaches third grade at Oak Ridge, and she and her daughter were among those who fell ill.

Today, Pritchett said they both feel fine, although her daughter is still struggling with allergies.

She said illnesses still exist at the school but are nowhere near the level reported last year.

“I am actually very, very thankful,” Pritchett said. “Even though there are a few things going on, the longer we’re in there, the fewer problems we’re having.”

Marianne Wiener led the group of parents and teachers who raised awareness about the health concerns at the school. She said her doctors advised her not to let her daughter go back to the school.

Wiener believes the school is safer today than when she started her efforts, but she still has concerns and says similar conditions likely exist at other schools.

“We’re moving on,” she said. “For those children back in the school, I’m happy and I hope they remain healthy.”

A team inspected the heating and air-conditioning system last week to ensure it is still operating correctly. No other tests or inspections have been done since the school reopened.

District officials reported spending about $600,000 at the school before 2008 for work, including a new dehumidification system.

The school district has earmarked at least $1.5 million since last year; however, last week the district did not provide an updated cost of the work at Oak Ridge. 

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