A letter dated Jan. 31 was sent to parents notifying them of the potential for exposure.

"We are taking appropriate steps to ensure everyone's well-being," said the letter signed by school principal Lisa DeLong and Glenn M. Wasserman, chief of the state Department of Health's communicable disease division.

Tuberculosis is a disease caused by bacteria. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but can affect other parts of the body. TB is usually curable, but if not treated properly, it can be fatal.

The disease can be spread through the air from one person to another, most likely to those an infected person spends time with every day, such as family, friends and classmates. It is not usually spread to people who spend a small amount of time with a person who has active TB disease, the Health Department said.

Only those students and faculty whom the Health Department has identified as having contact in the same classroom with the teacher need to be tested, the letter said. Testing is set for Feb. 19 at the school.

An information session for parents and guardians is set for 7 p.m. Thursday to discuss the situation. The meeting will be held in the school's band room.