Dundee delays start of school year after mold is discovered in classrooms
Dundee Community Schools has delayed the start of the new school year after mold was discovered in several classrooms in the elementary and middle school buildings.
In a letter sent to families Wednesday, district superintendent Scott Leach said the first day of school for all buildings has been moved to Tuesday, Aug. 26. Meanwhile, elementary and middle school open houses will now take place on Monday, Aug. 25.
Parents who spoke with CBS News Detroit on Wednesday said they rearranged their schedules to attend the open houses Wednesday, only to find out in the afternoon that the events and the start of the school year had been rescheduled.
"Mold can affect autoimmune disorders, and my daughter has an autoimmune disorder. She can easily go into a flare," said Dundee parent and health care professional Mandy Weslow. "As long as the kids are able to be safe, whether it's in a week, two weeks or three weeks. I think we just work together as a team and make sure they can still be educated."
The district said some of its buildings have experienced mold growth, and that air quality testing was conducted. School officials are currently waiting for the test results to determine whether the growth is black mold.
Leach said the mold growth was a result of the "summer's unusually humid weather," and the buildings' Ventilation Unit Ventilators are designed to draw in fresh air.
The classrooms where the mold was discovered were immediately cleaned by custodial teams. However, Leach said mold returned, prompting the district to take additional steps. The district has since adjusted its Ventilation Unit Ventilator dampers, limiting the intake of humid air outside, and placed industrial-sized dehumidifiers in each of the impacted classrooms, following a recommendation from professional restoration companies.
The district said that once humidity levels dip below 50%, mold growth will stop, and that custodial teams will reclean affected classrooms.
"I want to re-emphasize that we will not begin the school year until test results confirm that all classrooms are safe," Leach said. "The health and well-being of our students and staff will always be our top priority."
Additional air quality testing will be conducted after recleaning the impacted classrooms.