VINCENT-The mold issue at Barlow-Vincent Elementary School has been resolved for now, but district officials must look at ways to prevent a reoccurrence.
On Monday, Warren Local Superintendent Tom Gibbs told members of the board of education's buildings and grounds committee that reports received Friday indicate the mold counts inside the building are at or below levels outside it. While some duct work is still being done, teachers are able to be in the buildings to prepare for the new school year, which starts Aug. 25.
Winans Services, the company that did the mold cleanup, is leaving industrial dehumidifiers at the school. However, Gibbs said a plan is needed to keep air moving in the building to stop mold from growing again, as it did after a particularly humid period this summer.
"If a bond issue were not to pass, we need to do a pretty serious, long-term fix," he said.
District residents will vote in November on a 5.4-mill bond issue and 0.5-mill levy to build three elementary schools and a middle school. If the elementary school is going to be replaced, a long-term solution would not be needed.
Afterward, at the board of education's regular meeting, members unanimously approved the first reading of a new facilities use policy that had initially generated criticism from community members affiliated with youth sports groups that practice and play games on district fields and courts.
Fact Box
Mold Info
Warren Local Superintendent Tom Gibbs said reports received Friday indicate the mold counts inside Barlow-Vincent Elementary School are at or below levels outside it.
The building and grounds committee will have its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 25 to go over the priority rankings for facility repairs.
After listening to those concerns, the building and grounds committee revised the policy so that nonprofit youth groups could put down a $500 refundable deposit and meet certain criteria in order to not face other usage charges.
"I think the policy they have here is probably a fair middle ground," said Fleming resident Cliff Pettey, who coached a youth baseball team this summer.
The policy must be approved on a second reading in order to take effect.
In other business:
The board approved the hiring of four junior high basketball coaches, whose duties Gibbs said could expand if the bond issues passes.
Currently, Little Hocking and Warren elementaries would likely have combined seventh- and eighth-grade basketball teams, one for girls and one for boys, saving the nearly $1,800 salary for another coach. The reduction in coaching salaries was a small part of the $1.5 million in cuts the district made - among them eliminating high school busing- after multiple failures of a bond issue to build all new school buildings.
If the issue passes, Gibbs said he would recommend separate teams for each grade level, with each coach leading two teams and being paid for each.
"It'd be nice to just let history play itself out" if the teams would be combining at the middle school level in a couple of years, he said.
The move would require board approval.
Coaches for Barlow-Vincent Elementary were hired at a previous meeting. Their teams would not change because the school has a larger enrollment and more children participate there.
