SPANISH FORT, Ala. — The Baldwin County Board of Education has filed a lawsuit against Semmes-based painting company Melvin Pierce Painting Inc. for the lead contamination at Spanish Fort Elementary School. 

The incident occurred Jan. 5 while students were out for Christmas holiday. 

Melvin Pierce Painting officials would not comment on the lawsuit, but referred calls to their lawyer, E.J. Saad, who declined to comment on the issue because he said the lawsuit had not yet been served. 

“Until we get the papers we cannot speak,” Saad said.

The school baord filed the lawsuit in Baldwin County Circuit Court in June requesting a jury trial to ask the court to require Melvin Piece Painting to pay the cost of the cleanup, court costs and interest. 

“We are sitting on bills for more than $1.4 million. Those bills have been paid, but we contend it's the contractor's responsibility to pay for the mess they created,” school board spokesman Terry Wilhite said. 

The painting company allegedly did not test the walls for lead before beginning to sandblast paint. Because they did not test the paint, an old under layer of lead-based paint was unsettled due to the sandblasting.

The school board alleges negligence, wantonness and breach of contract.

The sandblasting job was said to initially cost $52,728.50, according to Wilhite.

The cost for the cleanup in the spring was estimated to be around $800,000, according to school officials.

That estimate, however, has since nearly doubled to about $1.5 million.

‘It was an extremely untimely development in a time when a school system is facing a $13 million budget cut due to the legislature cutting the budget," Wilhite said. "Times are hard and every cent is needed." 

Classrooms and all of their materials inside, such as textbooks, student's supplies and furniture received damage from the sandblasted lead paint due to wind blowing dust into the rooms. As a result, 18 classrooms and various outdoor areas were contaminated from the lead paint dust.

“It was one big mess," Wilhite said.

 It was determined by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management that Melvin Pierce's painters on the job at the elementary school did not follow the correct procedures and tests to check for lead-based paint before beginning to sandblast the outdoor awnings.

“The painters are the responsible party — the folks who disturbed it in the beginning,” Jerome Hand, ADEM public relations director, said. 

For precautionary reasons, the school wanted to have the entire campus cleaned due to finding lead-based paint dust particles in the school's air conditioning filters. Second, fourth and fifth grade students were away from the school until April of this year. The entire school reported to area churches beginning Jan. 9.

Nearly 800 students reported to Faith Family Fellowship, The Spanish Fort United Methodist Church's Prodisee Center and Bay Community Church to attend school in temporary classrooms until Spanish Fort Elementary was safe to return. Kindergarten, first, third and sixth grade students were able to safely return back to their classrooms in February. 

“We were extremely fortunate to have large spacious facilities to house to students,” Wilhite said.

 Lead particles are very harmful to one's health and highly toxic. According to Hand, if a structure was painted before 1978, it was probably painted with a lead-based paint. Hand also added that lead paint is most dangerous when it is disturbed. Spanish Fort Elementary was built in 1965.  

Approximately 900 tons of materials including dirt and all classroom materials had to be removed from the campus. Dirt several feet below the surface was dug out and hauled away because the first priority was making sure the students and everyone was safe, according to Wilhite. 

“We said from the start the goal was to ensure the campus was returned back to its safe state and that was successfully done,” Wilhite said.

Cases like this take much time to for a verdict to be decided. According to Wilhite, the next step in this lawsuit is waiting for both party's lawyers to communicate, then they will follow the normal proceedings.