Gaither High illness can't trump exams

A group of Gaither High students must take all final exams, despite a mystery illness that kept them out of school.

TAMPA - Gaither High School students who developed a mysterious breathing disorder this fall will have to take the full complement of final exams, school district officials said.

The students, most of them members of the Starettes dance squad and the marching band, missed too many school days to qualify for exam exemption status. They had asked for a reprieve, saying their illness was school-related. Most of the absences were for doctors' visits, or as a precaution against spreading the illness.

School district policy states that students with perfect attendance may exempt up to three final exams each semester.

Many of the students' parents contend that the illness could have been caused by exposure to paint and polyurethane fumes during a mandatory band camp in July. But environmental officials hired by the district to investigate did not find a definite cause.

Exams begin next week.

School district spokesman Mark Hart said former Gaither principal Ken Adum had said the absences would have been excused as "school business" if the illnesses were caused by something at school.

Adum has since been promoted to area director.

"That is a decision for the principal to make and before he left, he'd made it," Hart said.

At a meeting last week with students, parents and the scientists who investigated the illness, some students protested that athletes or cheerleaders who are injured during practices or games are often granted "school business" status for their absences.

"We're looking into that," Hart said. "It appears that it's accurate that school business absences for some sports-related injuries were allowed. It's still a bit of a challenge, though, to apply that to this situation because we don't know that the (breathing disorder) is related to their participation in the band or Starettes."

- Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 813 269-5304 or at mabe@sptimes.com

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