Students were sent home from North Sashabaw Elementary School Thursday, Sept. 18 after problems with an ongoing roof repair project.
Anita Banach, director of communications and marketing for Clarkston schools, said workers spilled roofing tar while students were out of school for a developmental day Wednesday, Sept. 17.
When students came in Thursday, there were concerns about exposure to the materials, so the administration decided to cancel classes for the day simply as a precaution. The district followed standard procedure in contacting parents, Banach said, and staff stayed with students whose parents were not immediately available.
It is far too early to consider whether the missed day of classes will affect the end of the school year schedule, Banach said.
Roofing work at North Sashabaw and several other district buildings was scheduled this past summer as one of the items included in the voter-approved $83.7 million bond issue. At the Sept. 8 school board meeting, Bruce Beamer, executive director of business and financial services, alluded to problems in getting the roof work done as some of the “ups and downs” of the overall construction project.
At least one parent wants the district to “hold the company accountable” for their actions.
Timber Ridge Trail resident Rachel Lake said she lives about half a mile away from North Sashabaw, and that fumes from the roofing work reached their home the evening of Sept. 17.
“I was coughing before I went to bed,” Lake said. Her nine-year-old son complained of headaches about 6 p.m., she said, and her four-month-old daughter had coughing problems during the night.
“I’m wondering how all this is connected,” she said. “Who knows what the effects have been on children’s health?”
Lake said she had not sought medical treatment for herself or her children.
An environmental consulting firm was called in to conduct air quality tests at the school, and everything tested positive, Banach said. The district administration is still evaluating what extra expenses may have been sustained because of the incident.
Information provided by the Oakland County Health Division indicates possible ill effects from prolonged contact with roofing tar fumes. Terry Rose, of the division’s environmental health office, said they have no jurisdiction in such matters.
“We don’t regulate that at all,” Rose said.