May Whitney School Closed Due to Air Quality Concerns

May Whitney Elementary school is closed today due to air quality concerns at the school, according to Dr. Mike Egan, superintendent of Community Unit School District 95.

“The school is being closed as a precautionary measure while we await air quality test results,” Egan said in a statement sent to parents last night at 9 p.m.. “We just became aware this evening that while wet carpeting was being removed during the post-storm cleanup process some glue and tile containing asbestos may have been disturbed.”

An asbestos consultant has inspected the area and doesn’t deem this to be an incident warranting concern, according to Egan. However, students and staff will be kept out of the building test results confirm that air quality meet standards in the building. 

“We will be sending an email to all May Whitney parents and posting more information on the district website about this situation,” Egan said in his statement. “Please accept my apology for this inconvenience. I will keep you apprised of the test results and the reopening of the school as soon as possible.”

Blizzard conditions last week caused a transformer to short out at May Whitney Elementary, causing water damage in classrooms, the library, and a computer power room.

Only early childhood education classes were cancelled last Friday, Feb. 4 due to the severe water damage to the three classrooms, giving the 40 children in the program an additional day off. The remaining student body attended classes.