Decision: Moldy modulars at Bordewich-Bray Elementary School must move

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February 26, 2002

Decision: Moldy modulars must move

by Teri Vance, Appeal Staff Writer

To the relief of the nearly 30 parents and staff members who attended

Tuesday's school board meeting, the trustees voted to remove modulars

infested with toxic mold at Bordewich-Bray Elementary School.

" It's too expensive to remove mold from the buildings and remove it in a way

that it will not return, " said Mike , the school district's director

of operations. " The cost to do that would be more than it would be to buy

new portables. "

Removing the mold-infested modulars, however, is just the first step in

solving the problem. The district now faces the decision of how to replace

them.

The most costly -- but preferred -- option would be to tear down the five

modular buildings infected with the mold and build a permanent addition to

the Bordewich building.

It would cost about $3.5 million.

Teachers argued that the current eight-building campus layout is

inconvenient and dangerous. Supporters urged community members to join the

effort.

" This is a decision much larger than this school, " said Kay Scherer, parent

and officer of the school's parent-teacher association. " We are all

responsible for each other in this community. "

said the little used Gleason Complex on Musser Street could be sold

as well as a parcel of land on Highway 50. He estimated that the two

properties could generate between $250,000 and $400,000.

If the Gleason Complex were sold, said the programs housed there

could be moved to the Bray building and Bordewich-Bray would become

Bordewich Elementary School, contained in a single building.

The modulars could also be replaced, costing the district about $750,000.

is hoping to sell the moldy modulars, possibly to be used for

storage purposes.

Three forms of toxic mold were discovered in November within eight to 10

walls of modular classrooms on the school's campus.

However, the air within the classrooms tested clean.

The five portable classrooms -- making up 14,000 square feet -- were made

permanent but no foundation was laid first, which allows ground water to

seep into the wooden walls and floor. Water also leaks through the flat

roofs.

Mold is measured by the amount of spores per cubic meter -- with 2,000

spores per cubic meter considered dangerous. Within the classrooms, 80

spores per cubic meter were detected and outside, 111 were detected.

Within the walls, up to 148,000 spores per meter were discovered.

The air in the classrooms tested clean.

Crews from First General Services of Northern Nevada opened the walls and

removed the mold during the winter break in December.

The three types of mold detected were Cladosporium, Penicillium-Aspergillus

and Stachybotrys.

The mold has been known to cause symptoms ranging from coughing and watery

eyes to diarrhea and short-term memory loss.