Parents pull children out of class over mould concerns
Posted October 24, 2014 1:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Parents pulled their children out of class on Friday to make a point about possible mould at an east-end school.
They were concerned about an aging portable at Secord Elementary School, near Main Street and Danforth Avenue.
“The 2014-2015 school year opened with the discovery of water damage to our aging port-a-pac yet again,” Monday’s post on the parent council blog read.
“Over the years this port-a-pac has required many expensive repairs to the roof and structure. Now there are health and safety concerns: mould.”
The post said the leaks were patched and visible areas treated, but there has been more water damage in the weeks since.
“The mould that can result could quickly become a major health issue to staff and students,” the blog read. “Permanent change needs to happen, and yet we wait for action.”
School trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher said the building in question is 28 years old and was meant to be temporary.
“I am telling parents they are doing the right thing by making their feelings known and calling attention to the situation since the [Ministry of Education] seems uninterested,” Cary-Meagher said.
The parents said the school is over-capacity and they want the portable replaced with a bricks-and-mortar building.
Inspectors with the Toronto District School Board have deemed the building safe, according to a report in the Globe and Mail.
