Vivienne Piper and daughter Elena in front of the trouble plagued Galvin Park Secondary College. 74652 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By XAVIER SMERDON
A HOPPERS Crossing mother is pulling her daughter out of Galvin Park Secondary College amid fears she may have been exposed to asbestos and black mold.
Vivienne Piper’s 14-year-old daughter Elena has had pneumonia three times in the last four months and Ms Piper is currently awaiting test results to confirm it was caused by the damage at Galvin Park.
Several roofs at the school have caved in due to weather causing asbestos to be disturbed and black mold to form.
Students are no longer allowed in the damaged rooms.
Ms Piper said she was not aware of the full extent of the damage until just over a week ago.
“I’m totally disgusted with the school due to the lack of duty of care,” Ms Piper told Star.
“They knew about this a long time ago and they didn’t let the parents know so they could get health checks for their kids.
“It’s like a plague that’s eating its way through the school and that’s the only reason we found out.”
Ms Piper said she would be sending her daughter the The Grange P-12 College next year until she could get a guarantee that her daughter would be safe.
“It might seem a bit cowardly to pull my daughter out but she’s way more important than the school,” she said.
“If I can prove that my daughter is sick because of this then I will sue.”
Katherine Henderson from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) said that the school was suffering from other parents withdrawing their students.
“There is an issue about reputation for this school and I’ve been given advice by the leadership team of this school that you’ve had a drop in year seven enrolments,” Ms Henderson said.
“I can guarantee you that no teacher’s jobs will be at risk.”
