An elementary school in San Diego County has shut its doors for students and teachers until January after mold was discovered in several places inside the campus.
Del Sur Elementary School, part of the Poway Unified School District, initially aimed to reopen by September 21 after temporarily relocating to nearby Stone Ranch Elementary.
But officials determined that the issues require a much longer timeline to fully resolve.
Poway Unified stated that the extension gives crews enough time to finish remediation and test building systems during routine operations.
“Our priority is creating a safe and supportive learning environment for students. If the campus is ready sooner, we will return sooner; if additional work is needed, we will take the time necessary to complete it,” the district said, as reported by CBS News.
Meanwhile, parents continue to speak out about the impact of deadly mold on their children. Kristen Montan, whose daughter attended the school, reported that classroom mold exposure severely damaged her child’s health.
“January 2022, she has ADHD and the meds she was on just completely stopped working and she became a completely different person overnight,” Montan told Fox 5 last month.
The health complications persisted throughout her daughter’s two and a half years at the school.
“Like clockwork every year around November, December something else would pop up… Headaches like five to six times a week, then stomach problems started five to six times a week. She started developing insomnia and then skin issues,” she told the news outlet.
Lab work eventually revealed “extremely high levels of mold in her body, four different types of mold,” Montan said.
Around the same time, a Del Sur Elementary teacher performed independent classroom testing and shared the findings with Montan.
“The molds found on that report were consistent with what is in my daughter’s system, as well as five of the most toxic black molds,” said Montan, who has since launched an online petition to demand accountability from the school district.
Earlier this year, a Poway Unified School District spokesperson confirmed that testing firm Air America detected mold in six of 17 areas evaluated in July. Although crews replaced air filters and scrubbed floors, follow-up testing revealed “lingering issues” in three rooms, Fox 5 reported.
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