Board Member Peters told the Pinellas County School Board on Oct. 14 that an external air‑quality firm completed testing and remediation at Tarpon Springs High School’s culinary academy and that the district had carried out substantial HVAC upgrades.

Peters said the district’s operations team conducted air‑quality assessments after a parent raised concerns, removed students from the culinary spaces while remediation occurred, and followed the external company’s recommendations. She told the board the spaces were cleared for use on Aug. 27 based on assessment results and that a final report issued Sept. 29 concluded, based on visual inspection and testing data, that “no further action is recommended at this time” and that remediation “appeared to have been performed professionally and per industry standards.”

Peters said the district’s maintenance team worked with contractors to replace ducts, vents and a large external HVAC unit; she reported a total cost to date of $3,351,277.26 for HVAC improvements to the culinary building and $7,500 for initial testing and remediation verification performed by the external company. Peters said she visited the site after remediation and found the kitchen and dining areas clean and in regular operation; students were back in those classrooms.

Peters thanked operations staff, the district COO and the school principal for their work. She emphasized the district used an outside firm for assessments and that the district followed the firm’s recommendations. The board did not take a formal vote on this item; Peters presented the status during board-member reports.