All will attend the Annex

The key question for hundreds of worried May Whitney Elementary School parents was answered Monday: Students will soon start classes in a different building.

The 58-year-old Lake Zurich school at 120 Church St. that has flooding, mold and asbestos problems is permanently closed, district officials repeatedly assured parents.

Its 436 registered students and about 45 teachers and aides will move to the former Middle School North, known as the Annex, 100 Church St.

Pattie Karwowski of Lake Zurich was relieved to know her two first-graders and one fourth-grader would not be separated, as the district had initially considered spreading students to several buildings.

"I feel very confident that the school district has made a good decision because the staff and students are together," she said.

While classes for May Whitney students won't begin as scheduled Wednesday, they should start about Sept. 4. District officials said they will have to find creative ways to make up for lost instructional time.

The Annex will be their new home for this school year -- and likely the next five years -- Lake Zurich Unit District 95 Superintendent Brian Knutson said.

"I don't believe we're ever going to return to May Whitney," Knutson said. "This is the only place we have to go."

May Whitney has had a flooding problem for years. An Aug. 6 storm deluged its basement with 3 feet of water, and 2 inches of "gray water" including some sewage in the back hallway. Drying out the building and cleanup took longer because of a 36-hour power outage caused by a lightning strike.

During cleanup, crews exposed asbestos in floor tiles underneath the water-soaked carpeting. Air quality samples showed no signs of airborne asbestos, but a sample of drywall in the flooded area revealed the toxic mold Stachybotrys chartarum.

The same greenish-black, slimy mold had cropped up five and 15 years ago because of flooding. District officials say enough is enough.

"The straw that broke the camel's back was the severity and just the continual recurrence of the flooding," school board President Kathy Brown said.

May Whitney is still usable for office space, officials said.

District officials plan to move up the timeline for deciding whether to raze May Whitney, based on the recommendation of a facilities report released this summer. That report suggests also demolishing the Annex and constructing a new elementary school on those grounds. Neither option can be executed quickly.

"We can't just build a new building," Knutson said. "It takes voter approval through a referendum to do that."

District maintenance staff has been working to prepare the Annex. It had been mothballed for a year and a half since Gavin Elementary District 37 leased it for the 2005-06 school year.

A leaky roof and minor problems need to be fixed for school to start, Knutson said.

Standing in the Annex's packed library, district officials and experts assured parents building air-quality samples confirmed it is in "quality condition," despite its hallway connection to May Whitney.

Lake County's Regional Office of Education approved a temporary occupancy permit for this school year, Knutson said.

"We intend to stay here for the entire school year," he said. "We do not want to move twice. That is barring some other issues that could occur here."

Logistically, it will take time to move teaching materials, furniture and equipment. Officials expect to do that by Labor Day. An orientation is planned before the first day of school so students can see their new surroundings.

There will be more information meetings for parents and updates on the situation on the district Web site, www.lz95.lake.k12.il.us.