Essex Elementary School parents, students and teachers, who have complained about poor conditions at their school ranging from flaking paint to a leaky roof, may find some improvements later this month -- and at little, if any, cost to Baltimore County.

Floors are going to be repaired free in two classrooms on April 20 and 21 by the Gibson-Homans company of Rosedale, which is eager to demonstrate a new material to cover and seal broken asbestos tiles.

And school maintenance workers now are trying a new chemical to fight the stench from the 67-year-old school bathrooms that permeates the building on warm days.

If that doesn't work, the county will contract with a private firm that specializes in eliminating odors from old buildings.

Essex parents, teachers and students, however, still are urging County Executive Roger B. Hayden to restore $50,000 cut from the capital budget to pay for a study to determine whether the school should be renovated or replaced, and $300,000 more to implement study recommendations.