Parents of students at Carnegie Elementary School say the building itself is making their children sick, pointing to construction that has been underway on the Franklin Avenue campus since the end of the last school year. The Carlynton School District has since tested a classroom's air for airborne particulates, temperature, humidity, and carbon monoxide, and officials say nothing in the results would keep students out of the room.
Parents Describe Weeks of Headaches and Nausea
According to WPXI, parent Shakaila Waugh said her daughter and several classmates complained of headaches, dizziness and nausea at school over the prior month. Waugh said her daughter vomited at night for about two weeks, felt better after a day at home, and then saw the symptoms return within a couple of days of going back to class. She told the station she plans to keep her child home for the rest of the week.
Another parent, April Hawk, said her child had frequent calls from the school nurse, was sent home early on multiple occasions, and complained of headaches and stomachaches. Hawk emailed the Carlynton school board and district officials about her concerns. She said she recognizes it's flu season and that germs circulate easily among young elementary students, but added that she noticed patterns in when the symptoms appeared. Parents interviewed by the station said the issue has persisted for weeks at the school, and those who spoke with WPXI said they remain unsatisfied with the district's response.
District Says Testing Found No Hazard
The district arranged environmental testing of a Carnegie Elementary classroom after a teacher requested it, and temporarily relocated students to another classroom while the testing was conducted. Superintendent Dr. John Kreider said during a public meeting that the district ran tests for airborne particles and carbon monoxide. The school board met Tuesday to receive a construction update.
The assessment included monitoring of airborne particulates, temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. An environmental air quality professional reviewed all of the testing results and determined that no conditions warranted remediation or required students or staff to be removed from the classroom. That same professional indicated the tested conditions would not be expected to cause nausea, headaches or dizziness. Per the station's report, Carnegie Elementary keeps monitors in place to measure air quality and has made changes intended to improve air circulation.
The district said no environmental conditions identified would prevent safe classroom occupancy, and said student and staff health, safety and well-being are among its highest priorities. A district spokesperson said all health concerns are taken seriously and that communication with parents will continue. Waugh said she has requested a physical copy of the test results, details of the tests and the testing company involved, and the district's plan going forward for the children.
Construction Timeline Stretches Into 2027
Carlynton is renovating Carnegie Elementary and adding a multipurpose room as part of a broader capital improvement project. Per the Carlynton School District, construction is scheduled to begin in May 2026 and conclude by July 2027, with total construction costs from base bids and selected alternates coming in at $15,158,800, not including soft costs. The district says it may consider a post-Labor Day start to the 2027–2028 school year if construction delays occur.
A construction update dated August 11 noted that crews continued excavation for the addition and began pouring its footers. The district says work on the new addition and renovated learning spaces is advancing while it monitors scheduling, temporary gym access, site safety, and steel delivery. Design plans from DRAW Collective describe upgrades to the building's infrastructure and mechanical system, additional classroom spaces, improved safety features throughout the campus, and a new library.
A Separate Mold Case at a Sister School
The district has handled a different kind of air-quality episode this year at Crafton Elementary, another Carlynton school. Rooms 101–104 there were closed after mold was discovered and remained off-limits for more than a week while remediation continued, according to the West Hills Gazette. Firewater Response removed carpeting, ceiling tiles and affected porous materials from those rooms, the outlet reported.
The district has said the Allegheny County Health Department reported no violations, evidence of mold, or musty odor in the Crafton areas it inspected in late August, and that the remainder of the school continued to be considered safe for student and staff occupancy while the four rooms remained isolated. Intertek PSI returned to Crafton on Monday morning, August 31, and further assessments and environmental testing would be coordinated before normal use resumed. That case is a separate school situation and is not evidence of similar conditions at Carnegie Elementary.
The broader push to monitor classroom air is not unique to Carlynton. Schools across the country have begun measuring air quality en masse, according to Chemical & Engineering News, which reported that data from indoor air monitors has shown filter-based portable air cleaners to be effective at removing airborne particulates. The publication also noted that pandemic-era collaborations between researchers and school districts in Colorado and Boston have continued and expanded in the years since.
For now, Carlynton's position is that testing turned up nothing that would keep students out of the Carnegie classroom, even as some parents say their children's symptoms keep coming back. The district says it will continue prioritizing student and staff safety and maintaining open communication with the school community as the Franklin Avenue construction project continues into next year.
