For Adams County’s Head Start program, the biggest concern may not be if the program will take place this fall, but where.

&uot;Closing the school or closing the Head Start is not so much the issue as where it’s going to be located,&uot;&160;said Dr. Mary Armstrong of the Mississippi Department of Health.

Armstrong, a district health officer, said she doesn’t &uot;have the entire fix for the situation,&uot; but she believes the biggest concern for the future of the Head Start program is its location – particularly if the program will remain in the problem-plagued Thompson School site. The health department is &uot;not going to allow children to stay in a school were water is dripping on them,&uot; she said.

The county-owned school, which is operated by the AJFC Community Action Agency, has long been plagued with structural problems – from a leaky roof to concerns over asbestos contamination. In 1998, the program administrators were warned to fix the roof – or they would not be allowed to hold classes during that fall session.

The roof was patched in time to hold classes, but it began leaking again. The program was placed on probational status by the health department in early 1999. Now, the program is under a restricted license pending results of state-ordered asbestos testing.

&uot;The leaking roof is what started the asbestos concern,&uot; Armstrong said, explaining that if asbestos ceiling tiles were damaged by the leaking roof, the asbestos fibers could have been released into the air.

Those results are due in a week to 10 days. With the results will come a recommendation on what to do with the building, Armstrong said. &uot;There’s still a lot of ‘what ifs.’&uot;&160;

But AJFC CEO Lamar Braxton said the unofficial asbestos tests are negative, and he thinks students should be able to attend Thompson this school year.

During the school year, more than 500 preschool age children attend Head Start at Thompson. That number usually drops to about 100 during the summer, with 125 now attending.

Danny Osburn, spokesperson for Administration for Children and Families which provides federal funding for the Head Start, said he believes AJFC will handle the building problem either by using Thompson, satellite facilities or a combination of the two for the fall session. &uot;We’re just assuming they are planning on serving the enrollment,&uot; Osburn said.

Braxton has said Head Start officials are considering plan to divide the students among Thompson School, Morgantown Elementary and West Primary, but plans are not final.