The district’s air quality was discussed at the latest BOE meeting.
At last night’s Berlin Borough School District’s BOE meeting, parents raised concerns about possible mold in the Berlin Community Elementary School.
Parents said since September, mold was found in at least three classrooms, including traces of the fungus on textbooks and chairs.
There also have been dehumidifiers in classrooms, according to parents, which the BOE confirmed.
“I was approached by staff in this school to get the word out that people were freaking out about the mold situation in this school,” parent Wendy Walters said.
Parents say both children and staff have been suffering from respiratory issues, which could be attributed to the potential presence of mold.
Superintendent Kristen Martello said the district “just did” a mold test, which was performed by an outside company.
“We absolutely have made sure that our building is safe. We do an air quality test throughout,” Martello said. “And we have no issues with mold in this district.”
However, a formal letter has not yet been addressed to parents regarding the status of those results.
Martello said parents wishing to see the official report can send a request to the district.
During last week’s board meeting, one parent submitted a hardcopy request to the BOE, stressing the need for information to be released pertaining to how the testing was done, what the data showed, remediation plans and whether it was reviewed by a certified industrial hygienist. Requests were also made to receive a second opinion on the results from other air quality professionals.
After pushback from the crowd, Martello said she’d consider writing an official written announcement encompassing these details.
“I can look into putting a letter to ensure that we do not have mold and that our air quality is good here,” Martello said.
One classroom underwent an overnight remediation in September, which parents said they also were not notified about.
Martello says the rooms are routinely cleaned, so an announcement was not necessary.
“If any teacher brings to the attention that they feel that there is something that looks like mold, and it is cleaned, it is a full air quality, as we would if it’s a classroom that has a significant number of illnesses within a few days,” Martello said. “It’s the same kind of thing. We do a ‘deep clean.’”
In regard to the dehumidifiers, the superintendent said they’re used to reduce moisture, because the school’s “cooling system” releases moisture into the air.
As the weather gets cooler, parents were skeptical about the need for the system.
“You are required to tell us if there’s a problem with our children spending time in this school,” Walters said.
