Schools were mouldy in June: report

Mould levels at Spring Park School in Charlottetown were rated very high in June, six months before officials decided to close the school, CBC News has learned.

There were two reports on mould at the school one in June2010 anda followup report inJanuary 2011.

The mould counts in June were much higher than in the January report, including one room that was four times higher.

The first report was not sent to the Department of Health. When Heather Morrison, the province's chief health officer, saw the followup report six months later, she shut the school down.

The revelation has some parents questioning why their children were sent back to Spring Park in September, only to be turned away four months later.

The Eastern School District says remediation work was conducted at the school through the summer of 2010. That included removing baseboards, recaulking windows, painting and cleaning.

It did no retesting to see whether the mould was gone, but welcomed staff and students back in the fall. The ill-health symptoms returned, with staff complaining of headaches and sinus infections.

In the fall, the school district sent a health survey home with students. It sent those answers along with new mould test results to the Health Department in January.

The school was subsequently closed.

Concern for children

Kali Simmonds, whose children attend the school, said Thursday that she does not want to dwell on the past, but said there is a lesson that has to be learned.

"We should have looked at interim things, whether it's HEPA filters or something to decrease the levels," she said."There could have been a lot more foresight."

The Department of Health is now asking that the Eastern School District notify it the next time it conducts health surveys of its schools.

The Eastern School District said its protocol for mould testing has not changed.