MOUNT ZION — Calhoun County Middle High School is hoping for grant money to fund a new HVAC system, a roof, lighting and a safer school entrance.

School Superintendent Kelli Whytsell pitched the need for the project to the state School Building Authority Monday afternoon. Whytsell is asking for $16.4 million to complete those projects. The decision will be made some time in December, she said.

The need for a new HVAC system was brought to the attention of the school board last October when the school had to close for three days due to the presence of mold.

State education representatives came to assess the situation and found the system was faulty from the beginning, Whytsell said. Air is supposed to come in to the building warm to combat humidity and then either get warmer or colder, depending on the need. The Calhoun system was bringing in cold air instead of warm air.

“The building has always had high humidity problems,” Whytsell said.

Originally, the classrooms were carpeted and the carpet seemed to be damp along with desks and paper that curled up. Until last October, the source of the problem was unclear.

While the school was shut down last fall, faculty, custodians, directors and administration came together to deep clean the entire school since the quote from a cleaning company said the cost would be about $180,000.

Whytsell said there weren’t any issue with kids getting sick since the problem was addressed immediately.

“Literally everything was cleaned in a room. (We) used the recommended bleach to water solution,” Whytsell said. “We go through and inspect regularly and if there’s any sign of it, we start cleaning immediately.”

Since contractors will have to go into the ceilings and duct work to potentially replace the HVAC system, it was decided to replace the roof and lighting at the same time.

“It just makes sense to put a new roof on since it’s near the end of its life anyway,” Whytsell said.

Times are different since the school was built in 1999, Whytsell said. They’re hoping to increase student safety by moving the office from the middle of the building to the front so that when people are buzzed in to enter the school, they are farther away from students.

With the office more separate from the students, any time an issue arises, the problem can be resolved away from the students, Whytsell said. Students would have a separate entrance to the office.

“We believe this is the best for our students and for the safety of our staff,” Whytsell said.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.