You never know,'' she said. I've never felt threatened by being here on the grounds.'' High-school Principal David Gorenflo and Edward Crawford, principal of the middle school, said they also support the school board and Superintendent Tom Shade in their belief that the schools are safe in the short term. The high school has about 500 students and the middle school about 265. Shade sent a letter to parents, students and staff members yesterday reiterating his position that the schools are safe and that monitoring of air and water is ongoing. Crawford has been with the district for 29 years, nine as middle school principal.
Teachers see passage of the bond issue as pivotal to the district, too.
But the safety and health of the students also remains at the forefront. Deanna Dewiler, a seventh-grade math teacher, said parents of one of her students send bottled water to school with him and he is not allowed to use the drinking fountains. He also cannot go near athletic fields that have been fenced off because of contamination. School, state and federal officials say that tests show the schools are safe and that the most-contaminated areas have been fenced off or restricted. Vinyl chloride is a known carcinogen.