Middle School Vacated After Mold Discovered

Staff have been removed from while testing on mold found inside the building is conducted over the weekend, according to Superintendent of Schools David Trethaway. 

School officials met with testing and cleanup companies Thursday to inspect the building after staff noticed "visible signs of mold" in some first floor sections of the building, Trethaway said. 

"We're in a holding pattern until they do the tests and they get back to us some time early next week," the superintendent said. TTI Environmental and Servpro restoration were brought in for the consultation. 

Testing will determine "the extent and seriousness of the situation," Trethaway said. "Once they do the testing, that will determine what type of action we have to take."

As a precaution, no staff are allowed in the building and the 6th grade orientation meeting set for Monday, Aug. 13, has been relocated to . A phone call will be placed to parents of children entering 6th grade to alert them of the change in venue. The time of the program will remain the same. 

The school has had some spot cases of mold in the past, Trethaway said, but the current issue is apparent "in several spots."

The entire school — "every hallway and every room," Trethaway said — will be tested.

It remains too early to tell if the mold will interfere with the first day of school, which is Sept. 4 for staff and Sept. 5 for students. Trethaway said that ensuring safety is important. 

"We're going to make sure everything is cleared before we open the school," he said. "With students and staff and everybody, we've got to be sure that it is 100 percent safe."