This ceiling tile in one of the restrooms at LHS is so wet it’s sagging.

Walking into many classrooms at Lebanon High School is an invitation to an allergy attack, if the student is allergic to mold.

LHS teacher David Glasscock invited parents, county commissioners and school board members to come tour the school and see for themselves during Monday night’s regular meeting of the Wilson County Board of Education.

During an actual tour on Tuesday afternoon, Glasscock pointed out recently replaced ceiling tiles with water streaks still leading down nearby walls.

LHS Assistant Principal Myra Sloan’s office has a wastebasket and other assorted containers scattered around to catch the water that leaks through the ceiling.

This ceiling tile in one of the restrooms at LHS is so wet it’s sagging.

These wet rusty pipes are in the ceiling of the main hallway at Lebanon High School where a ceiling tile is being replaced.

The windows in this bathroom at LHS won’t quite close, increasing heating and air-conditioning costs with out affecting the temperature. CONNIE ESH / The Wilson Post

By CONNIE ESH
The Wilson Post

Walking into many classrooms at Lebanon High School is an invitation to an allergy attack, if the student is allergic to mold.

LHS teacher David Glasscock invited parents, county commissioners and school board members to come tour the school and see for themselves during Monday night’s regular meeting of the Wilson County Board of Education.

During an actual tour on Tuesday afternoon, Glasscock pointed out recently replaced ceiling tiles with water streaks still leading down nearby walls.

He also showed two assistant principals’ offices where water damage was extensive and ongoing.

Teachers repainted walls and baseboards with bright blue mold resistant paint in the French classroom at the end of one hall, but the mold in the room is still a serious problem, he pointed out.

Jeanine Walling, who taught social studies in that room last year, said the school board paid for the paint but the teachers did the painting.

“That room stays so damp your papers curl up,” she said.

Across the hall in Walt Crawlay’s geography classroom, more than half of the students say they have allergy problems from the mold in that classroom.

“By fourth block most days I have a severe allergy headache myself,” Crawlay said.

He also added that posters won’t stay on his classrooms walls and during some rain storms he has “a waterfall running down the wall by the windows.”

In fact, water is his biggest problem.

“I’ve stood right here,” he said, pointing to the floor at his feet, “and watched water bubbling up around my feet while I try to lecture.”

In Assistant Principal Nancy Ash’s office the window not only leaks water, it is so loose the room gets extremely cold during the winter months, Glasscock said.

And in second Assistant Principal Myra Sloan’s office, a wastebasket and other assorted containers are scattered around the room to catch the water as it comes through the ceiling at 10 different points.

Restrooms, hallways and classrooms throughout the building and even the student cafeteria sport water stains and dustings of black mold.

The school’s wall of honor where the sports teams’ winning ways are honored is also streaked with rusty water stains and more mold.

“When I came here 10 years ago, the county commission was saying they were going to build a new Lebanon High School, so they didn’t want to put money into repairs,” Glasscock said. “What you’re seeing here is a combination of an old building and 10 years of neglect. We either need a new building or some serious repairs on this one.”

The school board members say their hands are tied. It’s up to the county commission to come up with the funding to change the situation.

Staff Writer Connie Esh may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .