Mold cleanup at Lakewood Ranch High to cost almost $500,000

Diana Greene, the superintendent of the School District of Manatee County, was asked Nov. 21 if she thought the district was going above-and-beyond to solve mold issues at Lakewood Ranch High School.

"We're doing what is right," Greene said following a parents meeting at the school to discuss the district's plan. "It's going to be close to a half million dollars when it is all done. There were things we had to address."

District officials told concerned Lakewood Ranch High parents they had spent $80,000 to clean up Building 400 after mold was visible. After Building 400 was finished, Tampa-based GHD, an environmental compliance and permitting company, inspected the rest of the school and issued a 93-page report.

Todd Henson, the director of facilities for the district, said Trilby-based Simpson Environmental will begin work Dec. 11 to clean up 23 portables on the campus at $9,500 apiece with the money coming out of the district's Capital Fund. Greene said any issues in the rest of the buildings on campus can be addressed by the regular maintenance staff. The district hopes work can be completed by the end of winter break.

While parent Staci Rosenstein is convinced the district is taking the matter seriously, work is not proceeding fast enough for her.

"My daughter (freshman Mallory Rosenstein) has upper respiratory problems and I have had to take her to an allergist," Staci Rosenstein said. "And it's happening here, not when she is at home. The parents want to know, "Is mold affecting our children."

Staci and her husband, Albert Rosenstein, said their daughter already has missed all but day she is allowed to miss during the school year. "She is sick," Staci Rosenstein said. "What do I do? My kid is having this problem here at Lakewood Ranch High School."

Other parents also told stories of their children having respiratory problems. One parent said his son's upper respiratory problems cleared up a month after he pulled him out of Lakewood Ranch High.

Parents also complained the school district was not being transparent about the mold problem and its cleanup. The GHD report was not made available to parents before the meeting but Greene said it would be uploaded to the district's website Nov. 27.

Even so, the parents didn't have a chance to review the material.

Greene said she wanted to inform the parents about the cleanup plan as quickly as possible so the district could get started. 

"I don't know many school districts that would have a parents meeting," Greene said.

The district's independent expert, Dr. Rene Salazar of USF Environmental and Occupational Health, reiterated once again he didn't believe the study brought up any major concerns about the environment. "I want you all to take home this message," Salazar said. "The indoor level of particulates was lower than the outdoor level. This is favorable. The report's observations are not reason for concern. Nobody should be freaked out by anything."