On Tuesday, Poolesville High School ended classes early after strong tar fumes from a roofing project left students feeling sick, according to Poolesville cluster coordinator Hannah Donart from the Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (MCCPTA). Parents continue to express concerns that ongoing construction at the school is threatening student health.
“Students were texting their parents yesterday saying they felt dizzy, queasy and sick from fumes,” Donart told MoCo360.
School district spokesperson Jessica Baxter confirmed in an email to MoCo360 that “there was an early dismissal yesterday due to fumes from the roof tarring.”
The roofing is part of a $60.2 million construction project that will completely renovate the building facilities at Poolesville High, according to school data. The project includes nearly 150,000 square feet of new construction and 60,000 square feet in renovation, according to architectural vendor VMDO’s website. Construction began in June 2022 and is set to be completed by the 2025-26 school year.
During construction, students are being shuffled to other portions of the building for classes or into trailers on campus. Donart, an environmental health scientist, said she’s expressed serious concerns about students attending school on an active construction site.
Over the past year she said she’s heard from students about flooded outdoor corridors, mold growing in bathrooms and construction noise distracting from test-taking. In one recent instance, she said, a ceiling tile fell on a student’s head during class. Parents have also expressed concerns about asbestos and lead being disturbed by the construction.
Donart raised these concerns to the Board of Education during a Jan. 18 hearing but said she has received no follow-up communication from the district since the meeting.
One parent, who wishes to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, told MoCo360 she’s worried about air and water quality disruptions on campus and wishes the district would encourage students to wear masks.
“I’m concerned about what my kid is breathing all day long,” she said.
The parent said she understands that busing students to a temporary campus would be impractical given the school’s remote location on the county’s 93,000-acre agricultural reserve, but said she wishes the school district would provide “more communication and transparency” about potential risks associated with the construction.
“I feel like they’re focused on meeting construction deadlines and not putting the kids first,” she said. “That tarring should not have happened while the kids were at school.”
In response to a request for comment, Baxter wrote to MoCo360:
“MCPS follows all federal and state regulations when it comes to construction and renovations in our schools. Asbestos work is done outside of school hours, during which contractors are required to follow safety protocols outlined by law, from containing the area to clean up.”
Donart’s two children previously attended a school in Washington, D.C. while it was under construction, and she said when they moved to the county she had hoped for better. Her children currently attend Monocacy Elementary and John Poole Middle, both of which feed into Poolesville High.
“As a parent, I’m really disappointed with the situation as it stands right now,” she said. “If my children were there, I wouldn’t feel comfortable.”
