Poolesville High School parents are approaching the new school year with trepidation after construction on a lengthy campus renovation project caused health concerns last semester.
Montgomery County Public School officials say the most invasive part of the project—roof tarring—will be completed before students return on Aug. 28 and have committed to a “frequent communication and feedback loop” to address any ongoing concerns about the $60.2 million project.
“We’ve been pressing [MCPS] for months to get some kind of assurance that in the future, any hazardous work will stop while the kids are in school or when the building is occupied, and we haven’t gotten anything back,” Poolesville parent Krisna Becker said. “No response, no assurances, no new protection.”
In February, strong roof tarring fumes emanating from the construction project left students feeling dizzy, queasy and sick, which then culminated in classes being dismissed early, an MCPS spokesperson confirmed at the time.
When completed, the project will modernize Poolesville’s building facilities and expand the campus by nearly 150,000 square feet, according to school data. Construction began in June 2022 and is tentatively set to be finished by the 2025-26 school year according to school officials.
Associate Superintendent Seth Adams, from the school district’s Office of Facilities Management, said he remains “very confident” the mitigation measures in place last semester were effective. However, he said roof tarring was paused several times based on “mounting pressures” from the community, resulting in some delays.
“I know some parents disagree in terms of whether or not the space was meeting safety standards, but the data we have says otherwise,” Adams told MoCo360. “For us, what’s most important is making sure students are safe.”
Laura Anderko is an environmental nurse consultant and co-director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment (MACCHE), a consulting branch of Villanova University. She said MACCHE received more than 200 calls from Poolesville parents between March and May raising concerns about health hazards stemming from the construction project. Some parents—such as Becker—are even considering pulling their students out of the school altogether due to the health concerns.
Anderko wrote a letter to the Board of Education outlining recommendations from MACCHE, which resulted in MCPS medical officer Patricia Kapunan reaching out to her.
She and Adams confirmed that Kapunan is leading a new taskforce to help keep the school district’s health policies and procedures up to date when it comes to projects like the one at Poolesville. Kapunan did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the status of the taskforce or its next steps.
“My understanding is that Dr. Kapunan wants to take it this up a notch for the whole county and be able to say, ‘This is the protocol we should be following before, during and after construction,’” Anderko said. “I think they’re moving in the right direction, but I think this push and pull of trying to get construction done while kids are at school—unfortunately there are moments where kids are exposed to things that can be detrimental to their health. We’ll see how the school year plays out.”
Adams said the roof tarring aspect of the project is expected to wrap up before students return to school on Aug. 28 and that the work will transition indoors to include addressing flooring, walls, ceilings, painting and other areas—adding that “we don’t expect any really major impacts or disruptions” for the remainder of this phase.
Brian Lancaster is the father of a Poolesville rising tenth grader. Like Anderko, Lancaster submitted testimony to the school board in May suggesting ways to reduce student exposure to construction hazards, like updating air quality monitoring data on the construction project’s webpage and conducting regular meetings with community members and health experts. He said to his knowledge, school officials never pursued his suggestions. He described MCPS as performing “lip service” about the Poolesville project and said he’s been discouraged by the lack of transparency and two-way communication with central office staff.
“We’ve come up with strategies and alternatives, and they politely nod their head yes but don’t listen to us at all,” he said. “As parents, that’s our biggest ask—just consider the alternatives we’re coming up with and respond to us directly.”
In May, Becker submitted a formal complaint to Superintendent Monifa McKnight and Area Associate Superintendent Diane Morris over what she described as the “ongoing health crisis” at Poolesville High. In the complaint, she requested MCPS not use any hazardous chemicals or processes for the construction project during school hours, keep buildings safe from “lingering fumes and contamination” and turn off the HVAC system when appropriate to avoid impacting indoor air quality.
On Aug. 4, Becker received notice that her complaint had been denied. In her written denial, hearing officer Natasha Jones indicated that “MCPS has determined that, moving forward, all asphalt roofing work will be conducted outside of the core school hours and days.”
Becker filed an appeal of the decision Thursday. The same day, Adams wrote to MoC360 to confirm that the remaining roofing was being finalized “as we speak.”
“Contractors have committed to completing work by the 25th and removing all roofing tar materials from the site prior to the first day of school,” his email reads.
Next week, Adams said project managers from his department are scheduled to meet with the Board of Education to update the board and provide an estimated project completion date. He said his offices have heard “a lot” about Poolesville students’ experiences through the lens of parents and moving forward want to make sure there are channels available for students to share their experiences directly.
“We want to make sure they have an avenue to notify us and for us to respond quickly,” he said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to get that student feedback so we can respond accordingly. I think that will be a game-changer for us across the board.”
Becker said she’s considering pulling her daughter out of Poolesville and enrolling her in her home campus at Clarksburg High, since she had been attending Poolesville as a magnet student. Becker said she’s waiting to hear back on her appeal before she makes a final decision.
“It’s sad because [my daughter] has friends there now and loves the program—that’s why I’ve been fighting so hard,” Becker said. “But I can’t in good conscience leave her there with no protection. If I had known when I know now, I would have encouraged her to make a different choice last year. And I just want parents to know what’s going on so they can make an informed choice about where to send their kids to high school.”
