West Memorial Elementary School - Closed for Mold

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March 15, 2002

District closes elementary for mold removal

West Memorial Elementary School at 22605 Provincial Blvd. will be closed for

the rest of the school year for the removal of mold spores from carpets and

wall cavities, Katy ISD announced March 15.

West Memorial students will have no classes during the week of March 18-22

but will return to classes at two temporary sites March 25, according to

Kris , director of communications.

Pre-kindergarten classes will move to Nottingham Elementary School, 20500

Kingsland Blvd., and kindergarten through fifth grade will move to the new

ninth-grade center at Cinco Ranch High School.

A parent meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, March 18, at the Cinco Ranch

High School Performing Arts Center.

Open houses for parents will be held at the two temporary sites on Thursday,

March 21, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The decision to close the school came after Building Air Quality of The

Woodlands conducted an air quality study, and found several varieties of

mold in areas along perimeter walls and adjacent carpeting. Several

classrooms had elevated mold spore counts in carpeting and wall cavities,

according to West of BAQ.

Tests indicated that none of the mold spores had become airborne or had

settled on classroom surfaces, West said. He added that tests indicated no

elevated spore count in the school's " breathing zone "

BAQ offered two options for removal of the mold: 1, isolate the affected

walls and remove carpeting while continuing to hold classes in other parts

of the open-concept facility, or 2, close the facility and remediate all

compromised walls and remove damaged carpeting.

" The decision was clear, " said Dr. Leonard Merrell, KISD superintendent.

" Once the test results came back, we knew we needed to relocate to an

alternate site. We will not compromise the health and safety of our

children, staff members and volunteers. The relocation gives us an

opportunity to have school in a safe, positive environment while remove

forward as quickly and diligently as possible with correcting the problems

that exist in the building. "

The relocation was made easier because construction of the ninth-grade

center at Cinco Ranch is several weeks ahead of schedule. Also, Tellepsen

Builders has been extremely cooperative in adjusting the construction

schedule and expediting completion of certain areas to make it possible to

have school there within a week and a half, Merrell said.

Construction areas and and main access to Cinco Ranch High School will be

partitioned off for safety reasons and the district will assign a full-time

security guard to the building.

Bus transportation will be provided for all West Memorial students.

During the week of March 18-22, West Memorial staff will pack classroom

materials and students' belongings.

The school district will ask the Texas Education Agency if the students will

have to make up the five instructional days that will be missed during the

transition to the temporary sites.

©Katy Sun 2002