Environmental workers inspecting the Independence (Mo.) School District central office have discovered mold. More testing is needed to determine the extent of the problem and whether it’s causing the symptoms suffered by as many as a third of the roughly 60 employees who had used the building. The district has moved employees out of the building and is leasing a former car dealership.
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FROM MARCH 2008: As possible instances of an unexplained workplace illness nudged upward, the Independence (Mo.) School District has announced that it is relocating its central office indefinitely. Superintendent Jim Hinson says that, starting Wednesday, the district’s central office will be in a former auto dealership. Insurance is expected to pay for moving costs and for some or all of the costs of leasing the space. Hinson says as many as 20 of the roughly 60 employees in the central office building could be suffering symptoms. (Kansas City Star)
EARLIER: The Independence (Mo.) School District spent about $2 million converting a former school into administrative offices, but puzzling illnesses might force workers to abandon the building and its historic past. About 60 district employees work in the facility, and roughly a quarter of them have complained of respiratory problems, tingling and numbness in the extremities and other problems for several months. The district has moved some employees to classrooms and other space. The central office is on a school site that dates back to 1898. Former President Harry Truman attended a high school there. It was a junior high when it closed in 1998. The school was converted to the district’s central office in two phases, ending in 2004. (Kansas City Star)
