Parent raises health and safety alarm after Holmes Elementary roof work; board urged to notify families

During public comment, a Holmes Elementary parent described recurring headaches, nausea and vomiting at classrooms following recent roof work and urged the district to notify families and investigate potential environmental hazards.

The speaker said staff and students "have been dealing with headaches, nausea, and vomiting" since roof work began several weeks earlier and alleged a delay in district-level response. "Students at this school, their parents have not been informed," the speaker told the board, adding that parents should not be hearing about the situation at the board meeting but directly from district leadership.

The speaker said teachers were told to evacuate some rooms on a Friday after site-level monitoring suggested "the levels may have been too high," and criticized the lag between on-site action and district communication. The speaker asked the board to take responsibility, contact parents immediately and review site leadership decisions about response timing.

Board members did not take formal action during public comment but the report was entered into the record; staff were present in the meeting and the board later moved through the agenda’s consent items.

What’s next: The parent asked the board to contact families immediately and to follow up with the site leader; the board and district staff indicated they would respond and address the concern through usual channels.