Elementary Teachers Raise Health Concerns in Lambton-Kent
February 2, 2007
Concerns it has raised regarding the possible presence of mould in some classrooms in the Lambton-Kent District School Board have yet to be addressed by the Board, says the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).
ETFO has called upon the District School Board to allow it to conduct appropriate tests, using their recognized experts. To date, Board officials have not permitted ETFO to investigate, independently, this potential threat to the health and safety of the school community.
For years, teachers in portable classrooms at Queen Elizabeth II Public School in Lambton-Kent have complained about health problems; for years they were told that test results demonstrated that their classrooms were safe. Finally, when a teacher removed wallpaper and revealed a significant mould presence, the portables were closed.
More than a year has passed and the health concerns continue, now in the main school building of Queen Elizabeth II Public school and elsewhere. Teachers have expressed serious concerns regarding the health of students and teachers in both Queen Elizabeth II School as well as in the portable classrooms at Brooke Alvinston School.
Despite these concerns, the Lambton-Kent District School Board has provided the teachers with conflicting test results using the same methodology that proved unreliable in the portables last year. Some tests revealed a possible danger while others, conducted by the same firm, appear to contradict their initial findings.
The Board is about to hire yet another firm to conduct testing but has not shared with ETFO the consultants’ qualifications in the area of mould expertise or the methodology that will be used. The Board has also refused to allow the teachers, represented by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, to conduct their own tests, using their own independent experts.
"Given what has happened, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has absolutely no faith in the Lambton-Kent District School Board," said Emily Noble, ETFO President. "The Board has refused to allow ETFO to have an internationally-trained forensic mould specialist conduct tests on the school. This is totally unacceptable. Teachers, students and their parents need to be assured that the involved schools are a safe teaching and learning environment."
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents more than 70,000 public elementary school teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest teacher federation in Canada.