BIDDEFORD — School Committee members have decided to follow a consultant’s recommendation and spend as much as $39,000 for further air quality testing at Biddeford High School.

The work will focus on contamination concerns related to an ongoing $34 million building renovation, the building’s ventilation system, mold and moisture management, and cleaning practices.

There also will be interviews with staff members, and a medical expert will be hired to examine students who have had health problems.

Air quality has been an issue for the School Committee and parents since two students were hospitalized in November with allergic reactions. Concern was raised that dust from the construction was affecting students’ health.

The school department hired Air Quality Management, which found poor air quality in three classrooms. The rooms were sealed off briefly and thoroughly cleaned, and have been reopened.

At the insistence of parents, the committee hired another consultant, H.L. Turner Group of Harrison, for a second opinion. Turner recommended assessing construction containment and ventilation systems and interviewing the staff as priorities.

The committee voted Monday to continue working with Turner for the additional testing. But Superintendent Sarah-Jane Poli said that because the cost would exceed $3,000, the job may have to go out for bids to comply with the city charter. She said the work would take about a month.

Money for the testing will come from the school facilities budget, Poli said, affecting any other maintenance projects planned this year.

Mary-Ann Noyes, the mother of a freshman and a junior at the high school, said she is pleased that school officials are continuing the testing.

“I’m happy that (the School Committee) has finally been given the opportunity to vote and actually get something accomplished,” Noyes said.

In addition to working with Turner and Air Quality Management, the committee submitted air quality results for review by an engineering technician with the Maine Bureau of General Services. High school students and parents independently hired a specialist in industrial hygiene and occupational exposure assessment, who reviewed test results and recommended further testing.

Noyes said about 10 parents have formed the Biddeford Association for Safe Students. The group was prepared to circulate a petition asking for more testing.

If Turner does pinpoint what is causing allergic reactions, Poli said, the committee will have to hire yet another company to resolve the problem.

Staff Writer Emma Bouthillette can be contacted at 791-6325 or at: ebouthillette@pressherald.com