Lead Paint Clean-up Costly

The last of the remaining 300 displaced students will return to Spanish Fort Elementary School next Monday, nearly five months after lead-paint was discovered during a painting and sandblasting project over the Christmas break.

"We're ready to get back to our classes," says teacher Misty Wilkinson. "The kids have been without so much and we're all excited and ready to get back."

Wilkinson's class is one of the few remaining classes still being held at area churches. The final contaminated wing is being cleaned up and re-painted before students arrive next week.

School officials say the clean-up will cost about one million dollars and tell News 5 they've had to use money from the general fund to pay-off crews cleaning up the toxic paint. But administrators also say the lead paint contamination was not their fault, and say they're taking legal action against the person responsible.

"Our attorney has put the contractor on notice that it's the contractor's responsibility to pick up the tab for the damages," says Terry Wilhite, school spokesman.

The contractor, Melvin Pierce Painting, was hired by the Baldwin County Board of Education back in December. We tried to contact Pierce at his office in Mobile, but he could not be reached for comment.