Persistence pays off for May Whitney

Thanks to Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. for his diligence in assisting our group in bringing the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) into the New May Whitney for an investigation of possible moisture and mold problems. We turned to him a year ago, when suddenly May Whitney was closed due to chronic flooding and the discovery of toxic mold. The Annex was reopened and converted to the New May Whitney.

It was our goal to get governmental agencies into the building to determine whether or not there was a moisture or mold problem. Finally in July 2008 IDPH investigated the building. Until now District 95 had relied on mold testing that according to IDPH was unreliable and could not establish the indoor air quality in the New May Whitney was acceptable and safe.

IDPH's recommendations for May Whitney and the district's response is at 95.nomoldleftbehind.com. Among those recommendations is that busses no longer park so near the building. Please take a few minutes to review all of them.

Thanks too, to the more than 600 community members who supported our petition.

District 95 schools are in a difficult situation now. We acknowledge that with the discovery of the structural problems at several buildings, District 95 has their hands full, but we believe the May Whitney community deserves a safe and healthy building for our children. We have just learned Rep. Sullivan provided a grant in the amount of $55,000 to District 95 earmarked specifically for "School Facility Repairs." We think this is a timely development.

The IDPH report (95.nomoldleftbehind.com) makes several suggestions to District 95 on how to ensure that May Whitney is a safe environment for students and staff. It is our sincere hope that they will follow those suggestions ensuring that they do indeed put safety first.

Carolyn Fitzgerald

Virginia Johnson

Hawthorn Woods

No Mold Left Behind