OZARK, MO — Yet another school employee brings a story to the Christian County Trumpet, alleging health and safety concerns that echo that of teacher Tom Swift. Below is PART 1 of her story:
Mold Story Part 1
There were many problems with this room and
adjoining rooms with water intrusion. There was a constant leak outside the gym door. The
middle school has many water problems. When it rains, you will see trash cans in various places
catching water leaks from the roof and wet ceiling tiles. There were also various places where
pipes burst and water gushed down the walls and onto the floor. I asked the custodian if there
was anything that could be done and was told there was nothing because it was an architectural
problem with the roof. On October 23, 2017, I submitted a work order for room 130 and the PE
office to be checked due to health concerns of staff being sick. School Board policy GBCB-5
states that all staff members should report dangerous conditions to their building supervisor.
District maintenance workers came to inspect. Workers inspected the area with a flashlight and
smelled the carpet. I was told that everything was okay because they couldn’t smell anything.
My name is Shelly Pettit. I am a former employee of Ozark School District. I dedicated the past
10 years of my 21-year career to helping at-risk students in middle school. In 2011 I began
working with students in ISS, teaching Strategies class for students needing interventions in
reading and math and was the Director of the STOMP program (Students Taking On More
Practice). I loved my job at middle school. I enjoyed building rapport with my students and
parents. During my teaching career, my heart has always been to reach students that were
struggling academically, socially and emotionally. I respected my students and they respected
me. My main focus was to get my students to believe in themselves in a positive manner, so real
progress could be made. My favorite quote is by Josh Shipp, “Every kid is one caring adult away
from being a success story.” The biggest reward was seeing my students improve and grow.
Before working in Ozark, I worked as a Title 1 Math and Reading Specialist in Springfield
Public Schools for 11 years.
I loved working in Ozark for most of my career. I had the best colleagues. We were like a family.
I was proud to be an Ozark Tiger!
Dr. Chris Bauman was the principal that hired me in 2011 and I really respected him. Later he
was promoted to Director of Operations and then Superintendent.
In 2017, I was moved to a new classroom.
The maintenance workers were making fun of me on the other side of my door for thinking that
this was making me sick. They were laughing and joking and made me feel like I had no validity
to my claims or I was crazy for thinking that mold could make me sick.
I have a lot of documentation about this and my health concerns with mold illness, the concerns I
had about students’ health, as well as my colleagues.
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 COMING SOON