mold-symptom.com

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.

"I think having a gorgeous, permanent new home certainly is a milestone for the McKinley community," McKinley Principal Paul Toaso said. "It's just a beautiful facility."

McKinley's problems were an extreme example of the problems mold and other irritants can cause for schools. In Litchfield, a mother is suing the superintendent of schools and the local school board, claiming that poor air quality, mold and dampness in school made her daughter sick.

This year, a group of teachers and parents, led by a former McKinley teacher who was severely sickened by the mold in the school, pressured the Connecticut legislature to pass a bill aimed at improving the air quality in school buildings. The law requires school districts to better maintain heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

The new law also requires local school boards to conduct environmental assessments for proposed school construction sites as well as evaluate any renovation projects for air quality.