Mike Martin is certain allergies aren't ailing his son.
 
Martin says, "It's severe headaches, running nose, congestion. He has a hard time breathing. He even has some hearing loss. I'm not sure if it's from the mold but it certainly can't be helping it."

Martin's 10 year old son attends Valley View Elementary in LaFollette. Martin recently went inside his child's classroom and took several pictures of the mold covering the desks, the walls, and ceiling tiles.

Martin adds, "It's child endangerment, child abuse, child neglect. I'm very concerned that's why he's at home and not at that school."

Steve Rutherford, the school's Principal says, "He feels that's best for his child so I am not gonna question that. If it may have been my child I might not have done that immediately. I may have given the school system time to get it taken care of but that's his child. He needs to do what's best for his child."

According to the school, one student has had to switch classrooms due to the mold, but he had pre-existing medical problems.

Rutherford says he first learned about the mold problem in mid August. The school immediately contacted a company to help take care of the situation by putting special chemicals in the heat and air units. Workers also bought two dehumidifiers and washed the classroom desks with bleach.

Many parents first learned about the mold through a letter sent out by fifth grade teacher Mary Arnold on November 7th.

Arnold says she sent the letter on her own to make sure parents were aware of what was going on.

In the letter, Arnold says the class had gone through 30 large boxes of tissues since the start of the school, so she knows the mold is affecting the kids.

The school has since drilled the classroom to see if leaky plumbing might be to blame but that doesn't seem to be the case. Crews have also replaced the ceiling tiles, repainted the room with mold resistant paint and cleaned the desks. The school is also looking into other options.

Martin says, "This ain't something a coat of paint is gonna help. They need to go in and clean it out. They need to take care of the problem."

Rutherford says, "There has not been a lot of people absent in that classroom so I don't think it's become a major health issue as of yet. If we get it taken care of, it never will be. We have nothing to hide here. We as a faculty and staff here love the children and we want to take care of them. We wouldn't do anything to endanger them."

Both administrators and parents want this moldy mystery solved soon.

"I want to see it gone before my child goes back. I hope a lot of other parents in the county take their kids out too. It ain't gonna get better, " says Martin.
 

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