Staff Writer

 Two classrooms at Biddeford High School were closed this week after air quality tests showed elevated levels of mold spores and dust.

The tests showed low to moderate levels of mold spores and high dust levels in two classrooms. Principal Britton Wolfe said the rooms will remain closed to students and staff until results are received from additional tests done Monday.

The school committee scheduled a special workshop Tuesday night to discuss air quality issues at the school, which currently is undergoing major renovations. The meeting was held after the Courier’s publication deadline.

Laurie Hale said she is concerned about air quality throughout the school and the superintendent’s response to complaints the school is causing allergic reactions in students. Her daughter, Marina Gagne, was taken to the emergency room from the high school nine times in the second semester of last year.

The first time Gagne had an allergic reaction at school, she broke out in a rash and had trouble breathing, Hale said.

“I had to carry her out of (cheering) practice and bring her to the emergency room because she couldn’t breathe. I’ve never seen her like that,” Hale said. “She just doesn’t get sick at home. She does not have these reactions unless she is at the school.”

Hale said her daughter didn’t have any allergic reactions during a weeklong vacation, but was taken back to the emergency room within hours of returning to school. Hale said doctors worked to find a cause of the reactions and suggested the school’s air quality could be an issue after ruling out other causes such as food, soap and perfume.

Each time Gagne has a strong reaction, she is treated with an anti-allergy EpiPen. Hale said doctors told her continued use of EpiPens could cause damage to muscles surrounding her daughter’s heart. Concerned there could be a connection between the reactions and school, Hale said she contacted Superintendent Sarah-Jane Poli last spring and asked for air quality testing.

Hale said Poli told her there was no mold at the school but agreed to do testing with results in six to eight weeks. Hale said Poli later told her the results were “none of my business.”

Poli did not return repeated calls for comment. Wolfe said no air quality testing was done at the school last spring.

Gagne has continued to have allergic reactions and was again taken to the hospital last week. Hale said she now wants Poli to resign because of how she handled concerns about air quality.

“The bottom line is she knew about it last year. I put my daughter in jeopardy by sending her to school,” Hale said.

Roberta Bernier, a school committee member and mother of a sophomore, said her daughter began having allergic reactions this year after spending time in one of the classrooms the school closed. Her 15-year-old daughter, Kelsie, was injected with an EpiPen and taken to the hospital after an allergic reaction to dust, she said.

Bernier said her daughter’s recurring symptoms include hives, tingling, numbness in her face and tightening in her throat. She has complained of severe headaches since September, she said. Both Bernier and Hale said their daughters are honor roll students who now struggle to make up work missed when they’re out sick.

“It’s killing me because I don’t even know if she should be in this school,” Bernier said. “You’re not supposed to be afraid to go to high school. She’s petrified to go to school.”

Bernier said tests were done at the high school after she voiced concerns in October about air quality. Wolfe said the school does annual air quality testing and those tests were moved up this year because of concerns from two parents.

Though Hale said she informed Poli about a possible connection between Gagne’s allergic reaction and air quality last spring, Wolfe said he was not aware of the possible connection until this fall.

 “Her communication went to the superintendent’s office and I was not aware at that time there was a specific concern that there might be a connection between air quality and what happened,” Wolfe said.

Wolfe said the school in the past has tested specific classrooms when requested by teachers. Regular air quality tests are done throughout the school and it is not feasible to test each classroom every time, he said. The recent tests were the first time the school recorded elevated levels of mold in the building, he said.

“We have done regular testing, we have tested where there have been concerns,” he said. “What we have to do is test carefully and take the appropriate action based on the testing, which is what we have done.”

Wolfe said he asked the school nurse and technology coordinator to develop a report of all health complaints made this year. He said the report will be reviewed to see if there are possible connections to symptoms and air qualities. Elevated amounts of dust from construction have aggravated some peoples’ sinuses, he said.

A Facebook page was created Monday as a petition to remove Poli as superintendent and encourage students to report any health concerns connected to the school. The page had 24 fans by Tuesday afternoon.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.