Director wants mold testing in all Sumner County schools

March 14, 2008

Fungus found in one school last year

March 14, 2008

The Tennessean - Nashville,TN*

By SHERRY MITCHELL • Gannett Tennessee •

03140410/1009/NEWS01

HENDERSONVILLE — Discovery of mold in a ville elementary

school has led Sumner County's schools director to propose mold

tests for all of the county's 43 public schools.

Schools Director Benny Bills said he will propose the tests to the

school board next week.

A report that was presented last week to members of the County

Commission's Education Committee said mold was found last summer at

Walton Ferry Elementary School in ville.

" If this is a concern, they all need to be checked, " Bills

said. " That's what I'll be recommending to the board Tuesday night. "

A report released July 9, 2007, from a national energy conservation

company urged school officials to test for mold, saying one of their

engineers become ill within minutes while inspecting Walton Ferry's

air duct system.

A second report dated July 13, 2007, from B4 Home Group Inc. shows

failing scores for mold swab tests in the library carpet and air

return. The report urged school officials to clean and retest.

" Both visual and tests showed that indeed the returns need cleaning

and the duct work (and) in addition, the carpets need a good

cleaning; after all is competed, that is to say if all things are

done, then sampling should also be done " to make sure the mold level

is down, the report states.

After receiving the test results, the air ducts and carpets were

cleaned and sanitized, but no retests were done, Bills said.

The director said former maintenance supervisor Harold Bowman was

responsible for retesting the school after the cleanup, but no

follow-through was done. But he stressed corrective action was taken.

" As soon as we got the report, the corrective action was taken, " he

said.

" Mr. Bowman did what they said, and they did not have another test. "

It wasn't standard policy for the maintenance supervisor to make a

report each time work was done, Bills said.

Recommended Posts