UPDATE: WVLT Volunteer TV has the story here. The parent Ida Randall should be commended for persistence to improve the health conditions of the entire community by “bird dogging” the issue. Mrs. Randall quoted in the VoluteerTV story has been raising the issue since mid – December 2005. “Ida says she’s been pleading with the Knox County School board to perform an inspection since mid-December.”

Russ Oaks, Knox County School Spokesman disputes Mrs. Randall’s account in this quote from the VolunteerTV story. “Last week, we had some parents indicate their children were having reactions to the seventh grade wing out there and felt it was prudent based on that to bring in an environmental testing firm to do some testing,”

This from the KnoxNews website. West Valley Middle School students will have an extra day off tomorrow Friday February 3, 2006 due to mold being found in seventh grade classrooms and a mechanical room.

This mold would have never been located without the mother of a child purchasing a take home test at the local Home Depot and sending it off. The mother then contacted school officials that allowed her to continue her studies away from the affected area. Channel 6 WATE exposed this story late last week.

A professional test was conducted and the results came to the school district today, resulting in this action.

This story is bizarre in that West Valley Middle School opened August of 1999, one of Knox County’s newer schools. It was constructed by controversial school construction company Webb and Sons of McMinn County. This incident also comes at an inopportune moment for the schools maintainance department as the school board considers a pilot project for outsourcing custodial services.