FAIRFIELD, Conn. --
More than two years after mold caused an elementary school to be
closed and later demolished, a new replacement school is set to open
for area students.
Fairfield's Board of Education shut McKinley Elementary School in
October 2002, after high levels of mold in the building were
believed to make students and staff sick. Storm water that came
through the school's roof while it was under repair in the summer of
2002 is believed to have caused the mold problem.
Attempts were made to renovate the building, but the decision to
knock down the building and start over was made after angry parents
confronted the Board of Education. The school was demolished last
summer.
Now, a new, $23 million McKinley Elementary School will open for
students Sept. 5. A ribbon cutting for the school is scheduled for
Thursday.
She's baaaaack...Betty Cox returns with
law degree to fight toxic mold in schools
A school secretary is suing the Rapides Parish School Board with the
help of former school superintendent Betty Cox.
Cox, now a Baton Rouge lawyer, is representing Peggy Bergeron in her
lawsuit that claims toxic mold in her office at the Rapides
Motivational Center made her ill.
Cox served as Rapides Parish school superintendent from 1994 to 1998
before she left the district with a $1.7 million settlement after
legal strife with School Board members.
Cox went on to study law at the Louisiana State University School of
Law and now works for the Walton J. Barnes, II, professional law firm
in Baton Rouge.