Mold Found in School

September 15, 2005

- s

9/14/2005 5:07:49 PM

WTHI - Terre Haute,IN

Some dangerous mold in a Wabash Valley school have parents on

alert. The mold was found at Staunton Elementary in Clay County,

Indiana The scare, causing some parents to pull their kids from

classes all together.

When students returned to Staunton Elementary from summer break, no

one knew mold would be joining them in the classroom. But on

September first, parents were told a mold problem had developed in

several areas of the school. " We received two letters, " said parent

Fagg. " The first one saying they're going to send off

samples, the second one saying the samples were okay. "

According to Clay County School Superintendent Bill Schad, carpets

were cleaned at the end of last school year and didn't completely

dry, causing mold spores to thrive. A few parents even pulled their

children out of school and sent them to others.

" Well, that's their choice, " said grandparent Tom Burk. " I'm sure

they had a reason for doing it. Maybe they know more about mold than

I do. " Parents tell us they're confident that the mold problem has

been dealt with effectively. " I was like 'eww' at first, but since

then, the principal has taken such a charge and kept all the parents

in the know about what's going on, " said Fagg.

A copy of the mold report provided by Staunton's principal shows a

Cloverdale company conducted air quality tests at the school and

found mold spore levels well below the allowable level. Outside,

however, spore levels several hundred units above that level were

found.

A letter from principal Sheryl Jordan to parents said after cleaning

and de-humidifying the building, the Clay County Health Department

has determined the mold was dealt with effectively. Further mold

tests will be available later this week.

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