A group of alumni from the old Bayshore High School in Manatee County, demolished in 1999, say more than 400 cases of rare cancers, birth defects, and other illnesses have been reported among former students and faculty. The group, Bayshore High School Concerned Alumni and Friends, contends toxic contamination at the site of the old school, possibly from buried diesel tanks, is to blame.
District officials say the issue has been put to rest through several tests in the last 20 years, "all of which have come back with no adverse findings," according to school district communications director Michael Barber.
Reporting from the Bradenton Times says documents pertinent to when and where contamination was found are missing.
A recent meeting with the Manatee County School Board, county commissioners, and school district officials found board members receptive to possible future testing, and possibly reaching out to past alumni to "notify them there was a higher risk of cancer."
Tuesday at 1 p.m. on Gulf Coast Live, Cheryl Jozsa with the Bayshore High School Concerned Alumni and Friends group joins the program to discuss her tally of 400 illnesses she says are linked to the old Bayshore High School, and how she has reached out to alumni and school district officials to gather her data and ask for answers.
Also joining the program is Manatee School Board Chair Charlie Kennedy to discuss the board's perspective on the issue, as well as future work between the school district and the Manatee County Commission.
