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WATERFORD - Waterford Elementary School has been temporarily closed due to mold concerns since Friday, Aug 21. Superintendent Suellen Coleman has released statements via Facebook updating parents and the community of the Wolf Creek Local school district’s actions following the discovery.
Classes have been temporarily moved to alternate locations and Coleman states Waterford Elementary should return to the building for class next week.
On Monday, Coleman shared in a statement via Facebook that the initial concern of mold arose in June when the high school volleyball team entered the locker rooms and discovered mold on cloth surfaces.
"The items were disposed of and the area was thoroughly cleaned. There were no signs of regrowth" Coleman stated.
On Aug. 17-18, three teachers at Waterford Elementary reported signs of mold in their classrooms and the administration immediately initiated evaluation steps.
Coleman's statements then say "out of an abundance of precaution" and after consulting with the Washington County Health Department, mold testing companies and a professional restoration company specializing in mold removal, the school would be closed on Aug 21 and has been closed since.
On Aug 23, an independent inspector took samples of all spaces within the building and used lift tape for samples of anything that appeared to resemble mold. The samples were sent to be processed, with results expected to be available today at the earliest. The next day, an independent mold remediation crew began cleaning the classroom spaces to prepare proactively so "we can safely expedite the return of students and staff," Coleman stated.
In a previous statement, Coleman said students would be sent to alternative locations for class including Waterford Methodist Church, Waterford Nazare Church and Waterford High School. Families were told to follow their regular transportation routines and students would be taken by bus from the elementary school to the alternate locations.
Kara Greer, who has two children enrolled at Waterford Elementary, said she was concerned with the safety of her children being transported to alternate locations.
"Sending (my children) to unfamiliar locations with unfamiliar routines did not feel like the safest option for our family," she said.
After hearing the concerns of parents within the community, students are now being sent to neighboring schools, including in the Fort Frye Local district, with the hope that the use of alternate locations will not last more than a week, Coleman said.
Fort Frye Superintendent Stephanie Starcher said when Wolf Creek Local Schools reached out about housing students temporarily she agreed, stating if the roles were reversed she believed Waterford would open their doors to Fort Frye students.
Starcher said the temporary arrangement posed minimal disruption as they worked with administrators and staff to adjust and accommodate the students and provide them with a positive start to the new school year.
"We may be rivals in sports, but we're definitely neighbors, and that's what good neighbors do," she said.
Coleman outlined a remediation plan after consulting with Washington County Health Department and the cleaning company stating that:
* All classrooms and spaces will be cleaned with disinfectant regardless of finding any mold present.
* All air filters will be changed in the self-containted HVAC units in each classroom space.
* Once all spaces have been cleaned, the district will await test results to determine if there was any mold present and ensure that the cleaning process was appropriate to rid the space of active mold.
* All cleaning materials that will be used are non-toxic, and the spaces are able to be entered immediately following the cleaning process.
* HVAC units have been adjusted to run with continuous circulation and enhanced filtration to circulate air 24/7.
* Additional dehumidifiers have been added to classrooms to assist with the moisture in spaces due to the recent rainy weather.
Coleman stated via Facebook that following the retrieval of results on the mold testing, a statement would be released to the community.
Coleman was not immediately available for comment.
Sophie Wheeler can be reached at swheeler@newsandsentinel.com.