Mold on Board inside Elementary School No. 1/ File Photo, Dec. 5, 2011

Prev Next Enlarge

COURT HOUSE — Middle Township Board of Education met in a special meeting the morning of Fri, Jan. 6, to discuss remediation plans for mold that was found in Elementary School No. 1.

After opening the meeting, the board immediately went into executive session. Upon its return to public session, the board approved three resolutions totaling over $122,000 for removal of the mold as well post-removal testing.

Remediation was performed after inspection of the school in mid-December by a private air quality agency that resulted in a microbial assessment report stating there was mold in the building.

That report has not been made available to the public. According to district Solicitor Amy Houck, the report is not being made available because it contains “advisory, consultative or deliberative material.”

An attorney for the New Jersey Press Association advised the Herald the statute to which the school district refers is applicable only to advisory, consultative or deliberative material as it applies to policy.

The Herald has requested a copy of the report from the district under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA).

When asked the extent of mold found in the building, School Superintendent Michael Kopakowski declined comment.

The mold issue came to the fore when mold was found growing on toys, glue sticks, bulletin boards and the American flag in a first-grade classroom. Members of the school’s custodial staff cleaned the classroom the weekend of Dec. 3.

At that time the superintendent told this paper, “We brought in some of our people. They cleaned it up and everything looks okay.”

An additional first-grade classroom was evacuated the week of Dec. 5 when mold was found. Again, the school custodial staff performed the clean up.

On Dec. 12 students were again removed from the classroom had been cleaned Dec. 3 when mold was found on a bulletin board and inside a dehumidifier.

During the Dec. 15 school board meeting several parents shared their frustration with the board about the on-going mold problem and their children’s health issues.

“I want to be assured that as parents, we are going to be kept informed,” parent Andrea Nelson told the board during the December meeting. “Twice my son had to move out of his class. Not only am I concerned about his health, he’s losing learning time.”

Another parent told the board that her children were both healthy – “Until they came to school.”

“Air quality specialists spent the entire day at No. 1,” Kopakowski stated during the Dec. 15 board meeting. “The testing included the air sampling and surface sampling.”

Remediation of the mold problem was performed by the Lancaster, Pa- based mold remediation firm Paul Davis Co. Removal of the mold took place from Dec. 27 through Jan. 1.

The Jan. 6 special meeting was called to allow the board to pass resolutions to move monies from the maintenance reserve account to pay for the remediation services, as well as the follow-up testing.

Resolutions were passed moving $103,258.79 and $9,146 from the reserve account to pay Paul Davis Co. for mold removal at Elementary No. 1. An additional resolution was passed moving $10,000 from the maintenance reserve account to pay ALS Environmental of Harrisburg, Pa. for mold testing, both before remediation as well as after, in the building. According to Kopakowski, testing was performed after remediation and before the school was reopened.

The entire school is now clean, said Kopakowski. “The levels of the building are acceptable for occupancy,” he said. “If any future issues do arise in any capacity, the board is prepared to address them immediately.”

Testing of the remediated building was performed Jan. 3 and 4. A final report is due back the week of Jan. 9.

According to Houck, a special meeting of the board will be called after receipt of the final testing report to discuss its findings.

When asked if the district’s other three schools would be inspected, the superintendent said he was not aware of mold problems in the other buildings.

In the meantime, “Parents who have questions can call me,” said the superintendent.