EDUCATION

Mold remediation underway at Beacon High School

Nina Schutzman
Poughkeepsie Journal

Add another Dutchess County school district to the list of those dealing with mold issues after a wet and humid summer.

Remediation is ongoing in the Beacon High School theater, after school officials noticed mold growth on some of the cloth seats last Thursday. A visual inspection conducted by Adaptive Environmental Consulting confirmed the district's findings. 

ServPro, a cleanup and restoration service, "is currently cleaning our theater at the high school Tuesday," Beacon Superintendent of Schools Matt Landahl told the Poughkeepsie Journal. "I will continue to update our community when appropriate as I have been doing the past couple of weeks."

The problems follow incidents of mold in other rooms in the school, and another school in the Beacon district, which have since been resolved.

At least seven schools across four area school districts have had issues with mold to begin the school year.

In a letter posted Friday on the Beacon district website, Landahl told the school community that the district will run powerful dehumidifiers and keep the theater closed off for the next couple of weeks, in order to let ServPro clean seats and treat surfaces uninterrupted.

Beacon High School

While the theater is closed, the Beacon Players, a high school performing arts organization, will be able to rehearse in school gyms.

"We will continue to test for air quality throughout the high school and share those results with you," Landahl wrote. "We will also continue to work with our air chiller in the high school to see what adjustments or fixes need to be done to help mitigate this in the future."

The high school theater is the latest mold issue for Beacon.

On Aug. 20, the head custodian at Beacon High School noticed mold had "developed overnight on desktops and other surfaces in four science rooms in the high school," Landahl wrote, in a Sept. 7 letter posted on the district's website. "He immediately notified our Director of Facilities Anthony D’Amato who started working with the BOCES Safety and Risk Coordinator Brian Colandrea."

The district believes "that the mold developed in those four rooms due to the classrooms having many potted plants and aquariums," Landahl continued. "That combined with the extremely high humidity outside helped to develop conditions for mold growth."

ServPro cleaned the four rooms over Labor Day weekend. Air quality test results from the four classrooms came back satisfactory, with the recommendation that Beacon install in the rooms dehumidifiers and HEPA air filters, mechanical filters that "scrub" the air.

On Sept. 4, staff at the high school noticed mold growing on instrument cases in the closet of the band room and underneath the risers of the chorus room. 

"Our own staff cleaned the instrument cases and furniture immediately," Landahl wrote on Sept. 7. 

The superintendent posted a second message later that day, alerting parents to mold growing in some classrooms at J.V. Forrestal Elementary. Some of the rooms were cleaned by staff, and others were cleaned by ServPro that weekend.

"Air quality tests were performed after the cleaning and the results of the tests at both locations were satisfactory," Landahl wrote, in a Sept. 12 letter.

Landahl told the Journal: "All of the rooms mentioned in the letters have dehumidifiers and HEPA air filters as of Monday." 

Moving forward, the district plans to have engineers review the high school heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and conduct more air quality tests in all of its school buildings.

Some problems at other area districts are ongoing.

Remediation at Millbrook's Elm Drive Elementary School is expected to take about six weeks, and the district is shifting classes to Millbrook Middle School. Wingdale Elementary School in Dover was closed Monday, as school officials deal with mold found at Wingdale and Dover Elementary School. And, the Hyde Park district has been wrestling with a mold issue at North Park Elementary School. 

Nina Schutzman: nschutzman@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-451-4518; Twitter: @pojonschutzman

More:

Mold: Wingdale Elementary closed, Dover Elementary remains open

Millbrook students, staff to be moved while mold remediation underway

Mold levels down in Hyde Park school, but some concerns remain