On Monday night, Oxford parents, teachers, and administration gathered at Clear Lake Elementary for an informational meeting on peanut allergies, but some parents left more confused than informed after the heated debate.
The school board has received criticism over the past couple months after enrolling a student with a ‘life threatening airborne allergy to peanuts and peanut by-product? and wanted to better educate the community on the controversial subject.
The night began with Dr. Mohammed Savliwala, M.D., of the Allergy and Asthma Care Clinic in Bloomfield Hills, discussing with parents about how allergies are formed, the different types of reactions which can occur and about the very rare inhalation allergies some children, like the one enrolled at Clear Lake, have.
Savliwala said about five out of 100 children who are allergic to peanuts actually have the inhalation form of the allergy.
‘It is not very common to have inhalation allergies,? he told the audience.
The doctor said the only way to protect children against a reaction from peanut protein in the air is ‘avoidance,? but that it won’t always cause a severe reaction.
‘Let’s say if I open a peanut butter sandwich and the child next to me is allergic,? he said. ‘Could it actually cause a life-threatening reaction? There’s never been a report (on a child having a reaction) just by opening a peanut butter sandwich.?
He said severe reactions from peanut protein usually occurs in smaller, enclosed areas, but still recommended eliminating peanut and peanut by-products from the school premises.
‘When I put myself in the parent’s shoes of the child who is allergic to peanuts, then the question really is the safety of this child versus having a peanut butter sandwich at school,? he said. ‘It’s a life and death situation.?
Parents in the audience, on the other hand, still had many concerns about the elimination of peanuts and what exactly they could or couldn’t bring to school.
Clear Lake principal, Sue Hannant, told parents to take care to read product labels to make sure there are no peanut or peanut by-products, but also said there is no set list of what can or can’t be brought because products are constantly changing manufacturers which may be producing peanut products in their facilities.
Oxford resident Sandra Martin asked superintendent Virginia Brennan-Kyro whether or not the new student was approved for Section 504, which is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
Brennan-Kyro said she couldn’t comment on that because of legal issues.
Martin also questioned who would be liable if a peanut butter sandwich accidently made it to the lunch room and caused the student to have a deadly reaction.
‘If you purposely, willfully, deliberately, intentionally, after knowing that we’ve established a peanut-free school gave your child a peanut butter sandwich to bring to school, will you be held liable? Absolutely,? Brennan-Kyro said.
Some parents questioned why the student couldn’t attend Lake Orion schools that are already well established peanut-free schools, but Brennan-Kyro also said the particular school wasn’t open for schools of choice this year and that Lake Orion ‘has no legal or educational responsibility for anyone who lives in Oxford.?
Still, parents were upset with the situation.
‘We’re creating a false security for this child,? said one parent. ‘We’re not teaching this (student) anything other than he’s special and he gets to go to the place where we’re going to do everything in our power to protect him.?
There was one parent, however, who had no problem with Clear Lake being peanut-free because she’d been through it in another school district.
‘As a parent I sat down with my child and said ‘if your best friend had an allergy, would you rather have your best friend in school with you, or take a peanut butter sandwich? And my child said ‘I want my friend,?? said the woman. ‘I think our children have a lot of empathy that we’re not giving them credit for.?
Many parents were also concerned that they weren’t informed on the decision earlier. ‘School was out. We made the decision to give out information to you as soon as we knew about it,? Brennan-Kyro said.
Brennan-Kyro also defended the district’s decision on enrolling the student with the severe allergy.
‘I don’t have the legal right to tell this family I don’t want them at the school here,? she said. ‘So, my responsibility is to provide the safest environment I can.?