CedarBridge Academy was advised by US specialists in July to spend the summer ridding the school of harmful mould and bacteria, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

The facilities manager at the Island's largest public school — which was closed on Wednesday evening due to "environmental concerns" — was told in a letter dated July 28 that mould and bacteria associated with health problems had been found in samples taken on the premises.

The letter to Ross Smith — leaked to this newspaper along with a report listing a host of problems with the school building including its "filthy" cafeteria, contaminated ceiling tiles, faulty windows and cracked exterior — said that algae, fungus and bacteria had caused heavy contamination in the air-conditioning units which was being re-circulated throughout the school.

A letter sent by the company ten days earlier to local firm TES Ltd. stated that "potentially pathogenic, hazardous or harmful" aspergillus spores had been discovered and "urgent risk management" may be required.

The letter to Ross Smith advised that the month of August be spent decontaminating the building.

Paula Vance, vice-president of Texas-based Microbiology Specialists Inc., wrote: "There are many things that we can do to mitigate and even improve the indoor air quality. The problems in CedarBridge can be mitigated in time to start school.

"You have a lovely school and a great atmosphere for learning which has been shadowed by recent events and complaints from the occupant teachers and some staff. These are all issues that can be addressed."

Teachers, parents and students found out about the decision to close the school on a television news bulletin on Wednesday night.

A meeting was not held for teachers until yesterday afternoon and a meeting for parents will take place today at 5.30 p.m. at Bermuda College.

No arrangements have been put in place yet for the schooling of pupils.

Two mothers who asked not to be named said yesterday that parents should have been informed about the closure.

The first, who has a 15-year-old son at CedarBridge, said: "I wish they would have said something. This is a deadly mould."

The second, who has a 14-year-old daughter, added: "Parents should have been kept up-to-date. That could be a fatal-type illness.

"I also think they should have found an alternative for students before they shut it — there are a lot of church halls."

Teachers alleged yesterday that the school and its Board of Governors had been aware of suspicions about mould causing health problems in staff for at least two years.

One staff member — who asked not to be named — claimed that at least 20 teachers had suffered flu-like symptoms, headaches, sickness and breathing problems as a reaction to the atmosphere at CedarBridge.

"In September, when we went back to school it hit you as soon as you went in. It's been disgusting. Those people have chosen to play God with people's lives and that's what's so serious about this."

Another teacher, Karen Clemons, has been off on "gardening leave" receiving full pay since the start of term due to health problems diagnosed by her doctor as caused by the potentially deadly aspergillus fungus.

They include sinus trouble, extreme fatigue and breathing difficulties. She sent an e-mail to Ross Smith in January 2005 complaining of "red burning eyes" and sinus irritation and asking him to have dust removed from air vents in her room.

Her lawyer Paul Harshaw said yesterday: "Clearly this is not a new issue so far as CedarBridge Academy is concerned."

Shadow Education Minister Neville Darrell revealed that he raised the topic with former Education Minister Terry Lister last summer and was told the problem was being dealt with.

He said he spoke to Mr. Lister's successor, Neletha Butterfield, about it a matter of weeks ago, was told specialists were working on it and was satisfied with the answer.

"When I saw the news conference last night I was flabbergasted because they have had so much time," he said. "My faith, my optimism was misplaced.

"We have to find out that in fact it was really a very serious diseased environment, so much so that they have had to close the school. All this was imminently preventable."

Karen Belboda, former chairman of the school's Parent Teacher Student Association, said she brought up complaints from teachers about their working environment at a meeting of the Board of Governors in April and was assured the problem had been investigated and dealt with. New Education Minister Randy Horton did not reveal at a press conference yesterday exactly how long Government had known about the concerns but said work to deal with the issue had been going on for "at least three months".

The letter from Microbiology Specialists to Ross Smith refers to a meeting the company had with him, Chief Education Officer Joseph Christopher, Board of Governors chairman Constance McHardy and principal Kalmar Richards on July 15 to discuss the results of samples of fungi and bacteria taken at the school.

A Department of Communication and Information spokesman said last night that until an internal review took place the Ministry of Education could not answer queries about the Microbiology report. "The priority is to address any and all environmental health concerns as expeditiously as possible and to do the best we can to minimise any disruption of the education of our students and address the immediate informational needs of the CedarBridge Academy family."

He added that the Minister was "very serious" about carrying out a review of how the matter had been handled and that appropriate steps would be taken based on the findings.

[bul] Are you a CedarBridge Academy parent, teacher or student? To have your say e-mail sstrangeways[AT]royalgazette.bm.