Staff Writer

A survey at Biddeford High School shows more than half of teachers have experienced recurring health symptoms they attribute to the school.

Nearly 58 percent of teachers who responded to a survey created by Mayor Joanne Twomey and school administrators said they have experienced health symptoms at the high school, including headaches, dizziness, fatigue and nausea. Most said they do not believe the issues are connected to the ongoing renovation of the building.

Twomey, who also is chairman of the school committee, said she created the survey to find out more about air quality issues at the high school. Air quality at the school has been discussed at several school committee meetings since two parents complained their daughters had severe allergic reactions in the building.

Repeated tests have shown there is no mold or silica dust in the building and administrators have stepped up efforts to clean dust from classrooms.  Administrators also have worked with Ledgewood Construction to contain dust from areas of the building undergoing renovations.

Twomey said she wrote the survey questions with help from Superintendent Sarah-Jane Poli and Principal Britt Wolfe. The survey was given to all 75 teachers and was answered by about 61, Poli said.

“I had to get all my facts,” Twomey said. “I felt it was important.”

Teachers who responded to the survey were asked if they have had any health problems they think are related to the building, if they have reported those symptoms and if they complained about air quality issues to administration.

Of those who responded, 54 percent said they have never complained to administration about air quality issues. About 61 percent of those who had concerns said their complaints were not connected to the renovation. Nearly 54 percent said complaints were handled in a timely manner.

Nearly 58 percent of teachers said they have noticed an increase in dust in their classrooms this year and 80 percent said they have had discolored ceiling tiles in their rooms. More than 62 percent of teachers said they feel comfortable bringing their concerns to administration.

Teachers who said they experienced recurring health symptoms described headaches, itchy eyes and sinus infections.

“I have been getting ear, nasal and bronchial infections since the beginning of the school year. I have not been plagued with these in the past,” one teacher wrote.

One teacher said students complain about the smell of the classroom.

“Many of them, along with myself, have had ongoing sinus swelling and congestion as well as nausea and headaches,” the teacher wrote. “I have gone home more often than not with nausea and headache. On some days it is so bad that nearly a third of my students have gone home. Most recently the hallways were so dust filled it was like a haze in the air.”

Another teacher said dust in the building intensified a cough that accompanied a cold.

“I certainly do not blame my cold on the dust in the building … but the coughing has been intensified by the dust,” the teacher wrote.

Teachers described ceiling tiles in their rooms that were discolored from water leaks. Some said tiles were always discolored, while others said they noticed issues only after heavy rain.

Poli said responses to the survey were what she expected.

“I don’t see anything I didn’t already know,” she said. “Some of the information is helpful.”

Poli said she will share survey results with the next company to do air quality testing at the school. The school committee voted last month to hire a new company to replace Air Quality Management, which has done testing at the school for several years.

Poli is interviewing new companies this week and said she expects a company to be in place to do more testing next week. The school committee requested the new company retest areas of the school tested during the past several months.

The school committee on Dec. 28 requested Twomey schedule a second workshop on air quality issues at the school. Twomey said she will not schedule the workshop until another round of testing is complete and she has more information to share.

“Until that happens, I just don’t see a reason to have a workshop,” she said.

Mary-Ann Noyes, a parent of high school students who has spoken at school committee meetings about air quality issues, said she and several other parents are raising money to hire an industrial hygienist to review test results. She said the group will have John Boilard of Northeast Test Consultants review the results and do a presentation at the school committee workshop.

“It’s going to shed so much light on so many areas,” Noyes said.

Poli said all air quality test results are posted on the school department website, www.biddschools.org.

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