Parents report elevated blood markers, pressing RSU 16 to fix ventilation before children return

Christopher Stover, a parent and veteran, told the RSU 16 school board that both of his children have experienced persistent headaches and fatigue and that lab testing found elevated carboxyhemoglobin levels — 4% in his son and 3% in his daughter — findings he said surprised doctors and prompted his family to keep the children out of school until the district resolves ventilation and air-quality problems.

"My kids can't return to school until everything is fully addressed and resolved," Stover said, adding that his wife, a pre-K teacher, has had to leave work to care for the children and that the family is weighing a tax increase to ensure schools are made safe.

Why it matters: Multiple parents described similar symptoms and linked them to classroom air quality. Those assertions prompted the superintendent to outline the district's short- and long-term responses and tie them to a proposed capital project to overhaul ventilation systems.

Superintendent Amy noted the district deployed CO2 monitors across classrooms after tests showed elevated levels. She said the Department of Labor advised a 2,000 parts-per-million threshold for classroom CO2 as a signal that fresh air is needed; the district has set alerts just below that mark and uses alarms as an operational cue — for example, to open windows, turn on fans or increase fresh-air flow.

"CO2 is a measure of the fresh air in the room," the superintendent said. "When those detectors approach 2,000, it's an indication fresh air is needed; it's not automatically an evacuation order, but it is a cue to increase ventilation."

She also said the district checked carbon monoxide detectors in the buildings after parents raised concerns; the superintendent reported those carbon monoxide readings as zero and said additional spot checks would be placed in classrooms parents flagged.

What remains unresolved: Parents said some doctors identified elevated carboxyhemoglobin — the blood compound that can rise with carbon monoxide exposure — as a worrying finding in children who were otherwise healthy. The superintendent acknowledged the concern, said the district is expanding CO and CO2 spot checks and that longer-term ventilation fixes are part of a proposal the board will ask voters to approve on June 9 through the School Revolving Renovation Fund (SRF).

District context and next steps: The superintendent said testing and monitoring have been shared publicly at rsu16.org and that Department of Labor and indoor-air-quality consultants have engaged with the district. She urged parents to review posted CO2 readings and noted that mechanical upgrades are planned in a multi-part project that would begin if voters approve funding at the June referendum; the district also plans additional carbon monoxide monitoring in classrooms parents identified.

The superintendent asked parents with specific health questions to continue direct communication with district staff and said staff would follow up with targeted CO and CO2 readings in the rooms parents named. The board did not take a vote on temporary building closures during the meeting.