ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — Summer programs across Alamance County are doing what they can to help families and parents with childcare next week.
Schools in Alamance County will now start Tuesday, September 5 after mold was found in over a dozen schools, the district says. Leaders say they need the extra time to figure out how to clean up mold in several school buildings.
After finding mold in two buildings, the district tested all of their buildings. They found at least 12 buildings with mold problems. Only two have had clean-up work started.
The first day of school delay has parents scrambling to figure out where they will take their child next week when they had originally planned for them to be in school.
The City of Burlington is one of many programs extending their summer camps to help the community.
Youth Programming Supervisor, Leah Podolle, said the camp will run every day from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm at only $15 a day.
"We want to help the families. We know it’s very needed right now. Parents are working. We are going to pull it together as a team and make it work," Podolle explained.
Skillz 4 Kidz is another camp extending its program into next week in order to provide some relief for families.
Owner, Shannon Edwards said they will continue to operate as summer camp until no longer needed.
"We will be here. We were looking forward to after-school starting, but it’s OK. I think we all learned with COVID. You stop, you pivot, you do what you have to do in order to help the community," Edwards said.
The district and county leaders will meet with elected officials next Monday, August 28, to determine the next steps for other campuses. Parents in the district have questions about what it means for their children.