CUMBERLAND COUNTY — The South Middleton School District has become the latest school system in the midstate to deal with a mold problem, but this one won’t affect the start of the school year for students there.
In a message to parents, students and staff posted on the district’s Facebook page on Wednesday, South Middleton School District Superintendent Matthew Strine described the cleanup efforts the district engaged in order to fix a mold problem that was discovered at W.G. Rice Elementary School on Monday, August 13.
“Our custodial and maintenance staff immediately begin to take steps to clean up the current signs of mold and work to make sure that conditions for mold growth were not present in the building,” Strine wrote.
The school was closed Tuesday, and the district hired an outside company to conduct indoor air quality tests on Wednesday. The school turned on the heating system and dehumidifiers in an attempt to mitigate conditions for mold growth, Strine wrote. Those efforts continued through Thursday, when humidity in the building was dropped to a desirable level.
Further air quality tests conducted Friday indicated there were no airborne contaminants in the school, and that the conditions for mold growth were gone.
The school will continue to run dehumidifiers through Thursday morning, when students are scheduled to return, and will conduct further air testing as a precaution, Strine says.
“As well, classrooms will be treated using the Clorox 360 System to ensure that W.G. Rice Elementary School is ready to receive our students on Thursday,” Strine said in his message.
“The South Middleton School District will continue to monitor and test the air quality in W.G. Rice Elementary Schools and throughout the rest of the buildings in our district,” Strine concluded. “We have successfully addressed this situations, and I would like to personally thank our custodial and maintenance crews for their quick and thorough response. W.G. Rice Elementary School is ready to welcome our students into a safe and clean building.”