New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Official: Mold found at two city schools
NEW HAVEN— As a new school year begins, city schools have more than a pandemic with which to contend.
Surface mold has been reported in two district schools.
In an email sent to the Board of Education by Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey, Chief Operating Officer Thomas Lamb said the humid summer and struggling HVAC-related issues were the culprits.
“Facilities were notified by the building manager that there was mold in some of the rooms at Mauro Sheridan on Friday morning,” Lamb said. “The building manager and his staff immediately cleaned and disinfected the cubbies, (pre-kindergarten) rooms, music room, and the stairwell, and everywhere the mold was seen.”
Humid air that is not circulated will present as surface mold, especially inside storage bins, closets, cubbies and other confined spaces, Lamb said.
The school was disinfected successfully by the end of the day Friday, according to Lamb.
The first day of school for most students in the district was Monday.
At Fair Haven School, Lamb reported there was a leak in the ceiling in Room
233 Aug. 22, as the state was being pounded by Tropical Storm Henri.
By Wednesday of that week, a contractor was called to investigate the cause. Some mold also was reported in the school’s downstairs IT room.
“It was determined both leaks were caused by HVAC units and they are both scheduled to be repaired,” Lamb said. Affected areas needed to be treated and dried before they can be closed up.
District spokesman Justin Harmon said Tuesday that “the surface mold at Fair Haven was cleaned in time for the start of school.”
In a letter to its members Tuesday, the New Haven Federation of Teachers said it is “working directly with the new Chief Operating Officer (COO), who oversees the entire facilities/maintenance departments, on AC and mold issues.
“We have received a detailed narrative explaining both the cause and remediation efforts with a subsequent timeline for repairs,” the union’s letter, from NHFT President David Cicarella and Vice President Pat DeLucia, said. “That information is being shared with the building steward and/or the teachers reporting the incident.”
The union letter also noted that mold was found at the Adult Education Center.
Lamb said an email a staff member sent to a school board member saying there is mold in other buildings is not accurate.
School board member Darnell Goldson told Tracey on Sunday he got an email from staff members at both schools who were concerned that classrooms contained mold and teachers were scrubbing it off furniture in their rooms.
Lamb told Tracey custodial staff should not be giving out cleaners to teachers.
“If the custodian needs assistance, requests should be made to the Facilities team for additional personnel to assist,” Lamb wrote.
At the last school board meeting, Lamb described district efforts to get on top of HVAC-related issues and make sure ventilation systems are working properly. A number of exhaust fans and filters have been repaired or replaced. The facilities department is trying to get ahead of issues, said Lamb, who began working in the district in May.
After walkthrough inspections and monitoring the work order system of the district over the past few weeks, Lamb’s email to Tracey details the discovery of some practices that may be contributing to the problem. For example, HVAC systems were being set back at night and on weekends as part of an energy management effort.
“I have been working with the HVAC controls team to modify set back schedules to adjust school ventilation to prevent this from happening in the future,” said Lamb.
In addition, the school district’s aging HVAC systems have been taxed more than usual this summer because of several heat waves and more buildings have been occupied with summer programs, according to Lanb.