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School districts who deny mold problems in situations where there are numerous illnesses and evidence of water damage are like tobacco lawyers saying smoking is safe, Catholic Church officials saying that pedophile priests were dealt with, and the US Military saying there is no such thing as Gulf War Syndorme. When liability is at stake, school officials behave like corporations to protect their interests, NOT the people in the buildings.
My wife worked many years in a moldy school, which eventually devastated her health. The facility had had two expensive mold remediations, but the roof was never adequately repaired. When she was coughing up blood, forgetting what she had just said, and entering kidney failure, she finally accepted that the facility was making her sick. 80% of the teachers and no one knows how many students---they were from immigrant, working class families that "don't count" in the Highline district---were reporting similar illnesses.
The school superintendent appealed chose to appeal my wife's workers' comp award. Even though we won workers comp, as well as a Superior Court jury trial, we have yet to recover any of our losses. Lawyers have nmade a small fotune out of the school district's efforts to keep the lid on mold.
In our case, teachers' Union leaders backed off because this "inconvenient truth" about indoor environments would distract from their work on compensation and testing. I am proud of the Houston teachers whose union is standing up for them and the students: this ongoing nightmare must end with strong science and legisaltion with teeth. Let's not let children and school employees get sick because a school district is too cheap to fix a roof. ---Gary Arthur, Renton, WA | 
