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ROBIN STEINAmid complaints about the air quality at Tarpon Springs Elementary, Clayton Wilcox plans to recommend moving up construction of a new school.
TARPON SPRINGS - Mold or no mold, students have almost certainly eaten their last lunch in the cafeteria at Tarpon Springs Elementary School.
Pinellas County school superintendent Clayton Wilcox told parents and teachers Wednesday that he plans to recommend accelerating the construction of a new school.
Tarpon Springs Elementary is currently No. 15 on the district's list of schools due for replacement. Administrators have estimated that a new school would cost $19.4-million. But Wilcox said he believes the school district can move up the school's replacement without delaying other construction projects.
Wilcox's recommendation will come despite air tests that found no evidence of a mold problem and "generally favorable" air quality at the school.
After getting back a final report Wednesday that summarized the scientific data, Wilcox said there are other factors at work, too.
For one thing, Wilcox said he has noticed that the library smells.
And he said the air quality sampling only captures conditions at a single moment in time. It does not indicate whether there were problems in the past or if problems are likely to arise in the future.
Over the past several months, 40 to 60 formal complaints have been filed about air quality at the school, he said. Student absences and respiratory problems also are higher than other schools.
More significantly perhaps, Wilcox said, there is the psychological factor.
No amount of testing is ever going to convince parents that the cafeteria is not a hazard, he said.
Parents and teachers broke into applause when Wilcox revealed his likely recommendations to the School Advisory Council.
The final air quality testing report came two months after administrators closed the school's cafeteria and library amid complaints about a suspected mold problem in the cafeteria and library.
The tests did not include the cafeteria because a heavy-duty cleaning had already begun there, he said.
"We sampled every single space kids occupy," Wilcox told about 50 people. "None of your children are in harm's way."
Even so, Wilcox said he believes a replacement should be built "sooner rather than later."
"I see no way we are going back into the permanent cafeteria on this campus," he said. "And I can't just build a new cafeteria alone."
Wilcox was careful not to make any promises and reminded the roomful of parents and teachers that he only makes recommendations. The final decision is up to the School Board.
"I can't say we are going to start next fall in a new school," Wilcox said. But the cafeteria building could be razed as soon as this summer, he said. "The community needs to see we're serious about rebuilding."
School officials should act sooner rather than later, School Board member Mary Russell said.
"I have enough evidence that they need to something there and they need to do it now, immediately," she said.
Students and teachers would likely be moved to a cluster of portables at Tarpon Springs Middle School while their new building is under construction. That would take 18 months to two years, he said.
Wilcox said that a second round of testing by a different air specialist had been arranged and was scheduled to begin as soon as next week. This time, the plan includes taking samples in the cafeteria and in the media center.