Smelly School Losing Students In The Panhandle - Sweage Treatment Plant

[matcom]

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FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- The children at Ocean City Elementary School say it stinks.

And they're right.

More than 70 have transferred from Ocean City Elementary because an aging and outmoded sewage treatment plant next door is emitting a foul odor, Principal Debbie Boutwell said.

"The smell affects us physically as well as the operation of our school," Boutwell said. "Our budget is impacted by the smell, because out of 77 children who are on a zoning waiver to not attend our school, 70 of the parents I called this summer said the reason was because of the smell."

Three brothers left just before the annual funding count in October because the youngest boy is asthmatic and the smell affected his health, Boutwell said.

"We get roughly $3,800 per student, so that's a lot of money that we aren't able to use for staffing," Boutwell said. "We have to write grants to get extra programs like PE and music."

http://www.wftv.com/education/4147168/detail.html