Chatsworth school parents demand answers amid ongoing mold exposure concerns

With one building closed for weeks, frustration continues to mount among parents at Chatsworth Park Elementary School. 

"Parents are completely frustrated," said Casandra Walker, the president of the parent teacher association. "Still aren't getting any answers."

Walker and many other parents said they believe a mold and odor problem inside one of the school buildings has been making their children sick. 

During a town hall, the Los Angeles Unified School District shared findings from its Office of Environmental Health and Safety, which conducted air sampling for mold after parents raised concerns. 

OEHS found that the air quality was "generally found to be within normal, acceptable ranges." They also conducted an asbestos assessment, which found "no damaged asbestos-containing materials or airborne asbestos fibers."

A spokesperson said the district will conduct additional screenings and potential health risk assessments. LAUSD has not received definitive results on the mold. 

"This has been going on week seven, and we've been given preliminary reports, still not final reports," she said. 

Walker said the problems began when maintenance crews found a leak in one of the buildings after a rainy stretch in December. She said concerns about possible mold exposure quickly escalated. 

"It's unacceptable," she said. "People shouldn't have to work in these environments. Children shouldn't have to try to learn in these environments. We need to know what's happening with the building, with the entire campus at this point. We don't trust anything."

Walker added that her second-grade son has experienced severe, ongoing health issues that she believes might be linked to mold. She said that his tests confirmed her fears. 

"We got those reports back, and they're through the roof," Walker said. "He has black mold. He has all the mold in the test results that we got back two years ago."

Parents said the school had the same problem two years ago. 

"My daughter was in the building two years ago," parent Katie Gibson said. "Her, along with multiple other classmates, had a lot of increased allergy issues. 

She added that her daughter's health improved when she was no longer in that building. 

"It took months and months to finally get her on the mend," Gibson said. 

Since LAUSD closed the building, more than 120 students have continued in other parts of the campus. District staff has also installed portable classrooms to move students out of shared spaces such as the auditorium, library and the teachers' lounge. 

LAUSD also hired an independent consultant to determine what has been emitting an odor from the building. Based on its preliminary results, it found that the odor was coming from "treated wood located in the crawlspace beneath the building."

"Clearly, something is happening in that building, and I want to get to the root cause of it," Walker said.