I am concerned about a serious potential health issue in Scarborough schools. For the past several months, I have spent hundreds of hours pouring over testing information, making requests of the school administrators and listening to staff at Wentworth Intermediate School.

My attention first came to this issue because my daughter remarked at how few sick days she missed at the middle school as opposed to how sick she had been at Wentworth. I requested data from all testing that had been done at the school to have a better idea about the air quality.

What I found was very shocking. Only eight tests had been conducted in a 12-year period (other than asbestos rechecks) and never one that encompassed the entire school. I e-mailed staff at Wentworth asking questions and began getting a host of stories and worries.

Shortly after I started asking questions, the art room was closed and the kids were having class on the gym stage and weren’t going to retest the area until it was requested. In addition, no notification was sent to parents. They put children back in the room with no retest or proof the problem was solved.

Along with the art room, the facilities manager was agreeable to testing tunnels underneath the school. I had gone into the tunnels and taken pictures of standing water and mold.

Under some wings, the tunnels show very high levels of things such as aspergillus/penicillium-like spores (a type I and III allergen) as well as low levels of Stachybotrys (a type I and III allergen) as well as a host of other things.

Although the testing company states the inhabitable spaces tested were safe for entry, one classroom in particular did contain low levels of both of these fungi. The World Health Organization states “any indoor airborne presence of Aspergillus fumigatus and Stachybotrys chartum should be considered unacceptable.”

I have repeatedly requested full testing of the building and have gotten no response other than to tell me it would cost about $40,000 and I would be the cause of two teachers losing their jobs if that’s what I wanted to do.

I have repeatedly asked the superintendent to place this issue on the school board agenda for public discussion, but have been told the board met in a workshop and would address the issue later. My intent with this letter is not to lay blame or cause problems.

I truly feel that we need to get a discussion going and simply find out what is going on and how to solve these issues. Because I have received so few answers from the administration, I felt it was time to go to the public with this issue.

Aymie Hardesty

Scarborough