Saline Area Schools and Dundee Community Schools are getting a slow start to the academic year after mold was discovered in some of their buildings. Both districts were supposed to have all students in class by now, but instead, they're left cleaning up the mold.

Letters sent to parents at Saline and Dundee Middle Schools spelled out a combination of factors that led to the discovery of mold and delays to the start of school. Saline Area Schools told parents that high temperatures and humidity over the summer fostered mold growth as they made repairs to their HVAC systems. 

Only Saline Middle School students were impacted by the delay and are now expected to start school on Wednesday.

"Over the weekend, professional restoration crews replaced roof air handler filters and individual classroom unit filters, and have begun a thorough building-wide cleaning process that includes air scrubbers, HEPA vacuuming, dehumidification, and antimicrobial surface cleaning," according to the letter from Saline schools.

In Dundee, all students will start on Sept. 2, even though mold was only found in the middle and elementary schools. Officials told parents the reason behind the mold growth was "due to this summer's unusually humid weather and the way our Ventilation Unit Ventilators (VUVs) are designed to bring in fresh air."

They updated parents on how they're remedying the mold growth, saying, "These included a complete wipe-down of all surfaces with antimicrobial solutions, followed by antimicrobial fogging of each affected room. HEPA air scrubbers ran throughout the weekend to ensure air quality is restored."

Both districts also say they expect air quality test results on Tuesday to determine if mold is still present.

Blissfield Community Schools is also dealing with a mold-like substance that caused them to cancel their second day of school. It's allowing them to clean and wait for lab results to reveal if the substance truly is mold, and they'll be issuing a notice to parents Tuesday afternoon to let them know if students will be able to return to class on Wednesday.