SHEPHERD — School was canceled beginning Monday for fifty kindergartners after their classrooms were found unhealthy because of mold.
Superintendent Scott Carter said district officials had the air in the annex building, which houses three kindergarten classrooms and a music room, tested early in August. The results returned last week showed unhealthy air in the building.
The air quality problems stem from mold growing in the annex’s damp, vacant basement, Carter said. He canceled school for the kindergartners and the building has been cleared of furnishings, he said.
“We didn’t want them in an environment with that type of mold,” Carter said. “We just moved any kind of kid contact out of there.”
The building, built in 1911, is not attached to any other buildings on campus. Carter said he expects kindergartners to return to new classroom space in the main kindergarten building by Thursday.
“We’re trying to be as proactive as we can to make sure our students and staff have a safe environment in which to work and learn,” he said. The music teacher will visit individual classrooms for music instruction rather than a central music room, he said.
On Monday, Carter said he had not heard any complaints from students or parents about potential health problems.
“At this point, no,” he said. “Both our staff and community have been tremendous in helping us deal with this difficult situation.”
The time away from school allows teachers to move into their new rooms. The district’s staff, community volunteers and teachers cleaned every item taken from the classrooms with a mixture of hot, soapy water and microfiber cloths. Carter said they were given explicit instructions on how to clean the classroom chairs, tables, desks and other items.
“We had a big crew to make it go smoothly,” he said, including the entire janitorial staff, the director of grounds and water and the director of buildings and maintenance.
Carter doesn’t know what will happen to the kindergarten annex.
“That’s a good question,” he said. “At this time, I’m not sure. I’m trying to get a quote, see what it costs to abate mold, make it inhabitable again.”
The school board will discuss the building at its Sept. 12 meeting, Carter said, by which time he hopes to have more complete information about what to do, what it will cost and whether the building can be used again.
Without mold abatement, “It’s not going to be habitable for any educational purpose,” Carter said.
Cost is a concern, since mold contamination is not covered under the district’s insurance policy.
“The budget will definitely be a factor when the board looks at what to do now with that building,” Carter said.
In the past, the basement was used for storage, Carter said, but not anymore.
In 2015, voters rejected proposed bond issues that would have generated $16.5 million to improve the district’s buildings. The annex is the oldest building on the campus.
