GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Public Schools is pushing back the opening of Grand Rapids Montessori Academy until at least August 28. Construction and other issues continue to delay the start of the 2023-2024 school year. The district addressed those issues at their Monday night school board meeting.
Initially on Sunday the school announced they would be delaying the start of the year by just two days due to ongoing construction that took longer than initially planned.
Then on Monday the school issued another statement saying the delay would be extended further after staff at the GR Montessori site reported mild illnesses after working in the building.
"I want to make sure that people understand, today is when we received some concerns from staff, and we went into action," said GRPS Superintendent of Schools Dr. Leadriane Roby at Monday night's meeting. "We went into action. Starting late this morning, we were notified that three or four of our staff members reported feeling some mild respiratory issues from being inside the building. We made the decision to stop access to the building until we could get our final tests back."
Several parents and staff members at the meeting addressed safety concerns. While many parents expressed gratitude for the school's continued communication with them throughout the delays, they also expressed frustration with the lack of a "plan B."
Dr. Roby said tests related to asbestos and lead dust both came back negative, however there is a third test that they are still waiting on results for.
Alex Smart, Executive Director of Facilities & Operations for GRPS, said the third test was a "particulate" air test, which tests for what he called a "nuisance dust."
Dr. Roby said that if any other delays happen they would do their best to give at least a 24 hour notice.
The start of the school year for the elementary school will depend on the results of air quality tests, results Smart said they hope to have by 11:00 Tuesday morning.
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