Crews clean mold, dust from school

By Kevin Woster, Journal Staff Writer | Monday, August 11, 2003

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PIEDMONT - Crews are finishing up weeks of inspection and clean-up work at Stagebarn Elementary School, where the discovery last spring of black mold in a classroom ceiling caused parents to fear for their children's health.

Meade School District Superintendent Jim Heinert said last week that a work crew specializing in environmental-quality problems went through the entire building searching for mold.

"The inspection revealed a few more spots of mold similar to what we had earlier, but no extensive mold was found," Heinert said. "The sheet rock and tile in those areas was completely removed and replaced. And we replaced all the suspended ceilings."

Heinert said crews also cleaned the air ducts in the building and found substantial deposits of dust. Those might have contributed to some of the allergic reactions that some students and staff members reported, he said.

The inspections and clean-up work will cost $30,000 to $40,000. Most of that work is finished, along with painting and general cleaning. Heinert expects the building to be open to school staff in 10 days to two weeks.

It was worth spending the money to provide a safe school environment and peace of mind for parents and staff, Heinert said.

"I think it was all necessary," he said. "Once we went in and found evidence of mold, I think it dictated that we go in and do extensive work and testing."

Work crews found just a few more areas with mold, Heinert said. They cleaned up the spots and installed new ceiling tiles.

Students and staff at Stagebarn had previously complained about allergic symptoms some parents believed were tied to air in the school. Air-quality tests didn't indicate a problem. But when an 8-foot-long fluorescent light fixture fell from a water-damaged ceiling, spots of black mold were revealed.

That's when Heinert decided to do more extensive testing and cleanup. Stagebarn parent Guy Ferguson said Wednesday that Heinert did the right thing.

"I'm really pleased about how extensive the work has been, even the ductwork," he said. "It sounds like he (Heinert) really did the thorough job he said he was going to do. I'm very happy about that."

Ferguson and his wife, Barb, will have a fourth-grade daughter and second-grade son at Stagebarn this fall. Their daughter had struggled with sinus-type problems during the school year, but they seemed to disappear this summer, Ferguson said.

Ferguson said he and his wife feel much more comfortable about sending their kids to Stagebarn this fall. He suspects his daughter's sinus problems were caused by air at the school.

"I can't pin it down to that, but she hasn't had the problem this summer," he said.

Along with the other work, crews patched a leaky roof believed responsible for the collapse of the light fixture. But they are also doing more substantial work on a problem area of the roof to help assure that it doesn't develop another leak, Heinert said.

"I feel very good about the whole project," Heinert said. "There's no question we'll be ready for school."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com