Students who attend PathStone classes in the Coaldale campus have been on an extended holiday, due to what parents were told was an “air quality issue.”

PathStone rents class space from the Borough of Coaldale at the Coaldale Complex.

According to parent Alex Willis, the Coaldale campus was shut down as of Nov. 21. Since then, PathStone officials have kept in touch with parents to give daily updates on whether or not classes would resume, but remained tight-lipped about why the campus was closed.

On Thursday, parents received a letter telling them classes would resume on Dec. 12, but at the Lehighton PathStone campus, not in Coaldale. The letter, signed by Coaldale facility administrator Tara Stauffenburg, states, “As you have previously been informed, we contracted a professional air quality team to do a thorough cleansing filtration in our Coaldale Child and Family Development Center.

Remediation is still in progress, which is taking longer than anticipated. We are actively communicating with the Coaldale Borough (owner) to make the necessary corrections. In the interim, we will be resuming services for all Coaldale Head Start and Pre-K Counts enrolled children in our Lehighton facility, located at 110 N. Third St., Lehighton. Early Head Start center based services will be transitioning into home based services temporarily. In order to make this possible, we are currently in the process of preparing classroom space, ordering classroom furniture and working with our busing company to prepare for services in Lehighton.

Our staff will continue to keep you informed of the progress and temporary busing schedules.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as the health and safety of all children, families and staff are our number one concern.”

When contacted, Pathstone officials directed all questions to the building’s owner.

Coaldale Borough Secretary Suzanne Whildin says all questions about the building and its status must be directed to Coaldale Borough Council. The next council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Dec. 11, one day before the Coaldale students will start classes in Lehighton.

The complex is the site of the former Coaldale High School. The Panther Valley School Board offered the building to Coaldale Borough in 1974, an offer that was accepted. It was in a state of disrepair at the time and the Coaldale High School Complex Commission was created to oversee repairs and fundraising efforts as the building was being renovated to become a community center.

An engineering inspection in 2010 revealed numerous problems with the building, including issues with the roof, cracked mortar joints and missing chimney bricks on the exterior with significant water damage to the interior, including stained ceiling tiles, rusted steel, fallen plaster and mildew. Those issues were resolved over time and the complex has been used for a variety of events.

Willis and other parents are worried the air quality issue might be related to black mold and are frustrated with the lack of real information concerning a possible health issue for their children. “My son has been attending classes there for two years. Is this a long-standing problem that has been getting worse? Is that why he always seems to be sick so often? We have a right to know exactly what kind of air quality issue they are dealing with,” says Willis.