ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — Alamance-Burlington Schools said the mold issue is worse than first expected in three schools and 16 others could have similar issues.
The district delayed the start of the school year to give it more time to address the issue.
Many parents want to know why mold is just now being found in so many schools.
There are a few answers to that question.
Administrators report issues as they see them so it's likely things could have been missed.
Second, in 2017 administrators alerted the school board members at the time about mold at Cummings High and Broadview Middle Schools so mold was known to be at some ABSS schools.
School board members at the time said they could only afford to band-aid the issue.
So now students are taking on extra days of summer while leaders work to come up with solutions.
Here are 5 things you need to know about the district's decision to delay the start of school.
1. There are 21 Alamance Burlington schools that have or will undergo inspections, mold was found in five of them.
The one and only school cleared is Andrews Elementary. It was the first building found with mold, HVAC repairs and testing were certified deeming the school safe.
2. How bad the mold problem is depends on the school.
Newlin Elementary is still undergoing HVAC repairs. Mold was found there 2 weeks ago.
The district's public information officer Les Atkins said Williams and Cummings High and Broadview Middle Schools could need more extensive remediation.
"We walked through Williams yesterday. Mold was more visible at that school. Inspectors have been there today doing swap test," Atkins said. "Particularly at Cummings and Broadview they have been working on the HVAC system this is an ongoing capital project that we had already in place and we believe that may have contributed to some of the mold issues there because the system was off."
3. The timeline for when students could return to school is pushed back to at least Sept. 5.
ABSS said they are awaiting results from inspectors before a solid plan is formed.
4. There are several options the district is considering.
At this time Atkins said remote learning isn't one of them..
"There's been rumors we're going to go virtual, that's not the case we're exploring all of our options right now to see what we can do," Atkins said. "Some of that means shifting students to other buildings. We want students in school."
5. $1.2 million has gone to mold remediations and HVAC repairs. The school district plans to work with county and state leaders to come up with the additional funds needed.
Atkins said they do keep their HVAC systems running year-round but they are set to a higher degree during the summer.
They are looking into if that played a part In mold growth.
The school board will meet with state and county leaders next August 28. discuss what comes next.