Indio High has mold problem

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Indio High has mold problem

Click here for video Mold at one local high school has forced some students out of a classroom and is costing the school district thousands of dollars. The mold is not toxic and nobody has gotten sick from it, but since mold can cause health problems for those who are allergic, the school's acting quickly to get it removed.

This classroom at Indio High School is off limits because of an invisible, but potentially dangerous problem - mold. It's forced students to move to a different classroom.

"We do know that it's not toxic mold and we just decided to take care of the problem in the classroom, so it could be free and clear," says Indio High Principal Rudy .

But it was enough of a problem for the school and the district to take care of right away. The district declared it "urgent" so they could bypass the long bidding process, and start the clean up immediately.

The school says nobody got sick because of the mold because it was tested and taken care of soon after the room flooded about a month and a half ago.

But mold can spread so crews are now taking steps to stop that. They're replacing one wall in the classroom and they'll have to steam-clean the carpets and check air conditioning ducts.The total cost for the project: about $18,000. The school says the students will be allowed back into this room in a couple weeks. Parents say they're glad the school found the mold before anyone got sick. "That's great, because they're not here just to educate our students, but to show that they care about their well-being, that's a big, big thing," says parent Lucy .

The district says mold has become a problem in some of its older school buildings. Last month, parents of children at Washington Charter Elementary in Palm Desert said their children were getting sick because of mold in one classroom there. Newschannel 3 has learned the school will have to remove parts of the wall and rip out the carpeting. The cost of that project is about $10,000.

The Desert Sands School District says whenever mold is found at any school it gets removed right away, and the rooms are always tested for air quality after the work is done to ensure it's safe for students.