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GRANT JEFFERIES
Lisa Towell, Tara Simmons, and Jodie Roberts, parents of Tara Elementary School students, have voiced concerns about mold in portable classrooms at the school, and the effects on their children.
GRANT JEFFERIES/
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SLIDESHOW | Moms say mold made students sick
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Moms say mold made students sick
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By MAURA POSSLEY
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EAST MANATEE --At the start of the school year, a band of East Manatee mothers noticed their 6-year-olds complaining of head and stomach aches, vomiting, coughing and joint pain.
They thought the children were adjusting to first-grade at Tara Elementary or perhaps a new exercise course they were taking.
But symptoms persisted into the fall, they say, and as parents talked to one another they have come to believe moldy conditions inside their children's portable classroom are to blame.
Lisa Towell said her daughter, Dana, stayed home sick seven days in a two-week period.
Jodie Roberts' son, Brady, treats his asthma with a nebulizer almost daily, up from regular seasonal treatment, she said.
Tara Simmons said her son, Dillon, has frequent nosebleeds, and coughs constantly.
"The kids tell us so-and-so threw up today," Towell said. "That's not conducive to learning."
The Manatee County School District ordered tests on the conditions of two Tara portables that showed moisture near one of the bathrooms, said district spokeswoman Margi Nanney.
"Whenever there's moisture, there could be mold present," she said. "The district immediately responds to those cases."
Needed repairs are being addressed, Nanney said, with crews replacing roofing and installing new air conditioning units.
Meanwhile, students were moved to different classrooms, she said.
"I can't say whether these symptoms are related to these portables or not," Nanney said. "After the conditions of the repairs are satisfied . . . the children will be moved back in because the problem would have been solved at that point."
But the mothers say repairs won't help what they describe as permanent mold damage.
"Because Manatee County schools doesn't have the money, the kids suffer," Roberts said. "They're just band-aiding it. There's nowhere to put them. That is not the children's problem, it's not the parent's problem, it's a school district problem."
The parents contacted the Bradenton Herald Thursday seeking to spotlight the issue.
"We're just not getting any response," Towell said of school district officials. "This has been going on for two months now, so obviously being nice isn't helping, being understanding isn't helping. It's not to be malicious or make trouble. They're pacifying us."
Added Simmons: "In the meantime, they're putting the 6-year-olds' health at risk. It's unfair that the kids have to pay." |
