Parents Rip Brick For Keeping Drum Point School Open, Despite Mold Problem

Several parents on Wednesday decried the Brick School District's decision to keep Drum Point Elementary School open after mold was discovered.

The district held a special school board meeting Wednesday, where officials and contractors described the process of testing and removing mold from the building. The mold remediation was completed Nov. 10.

Several parents said they were disappointed the school remained open, especially between an Oct. 30 meeting and the time remediation began the first week of November through its completion Nov. 10.

One mother said she chose to keep her child home until the mold remediation was complete: "I didn't want to see my child scratching at his skin, having a reaction...this was mild compared to what some others went through. You should have closed the school."

Board member Parents asked staff from Brinkerhoff, the firm involved with testing the school's mold, to explain the health impact of that level of mold.

"I didn't say it was safe for everybody. The levels of mold in the school could acerbate those with asthma or compromised immune systems," said James Hooper, project manager at Brinkerhoff.

But because it was not affecting all, or the average student, board members said, and because remediation could be completed over the weekend, the decision was made to keep Drum Point open.

Some parents present took issue with keeping the school open before mold remediation was complete, offering comments to the board such as: "One sick child is too many," "Why would you put any children in harms' way."

Superintendent Walter Uszenski said the decision was made after polling the board members and hearing on the timeline for remediation. "Discuss options of closing the building, or cleaning weekends, baaed on that we Let the school stay open," he said.

Although he heard from parents with concerns about keeping the school open, he said he has "a lot of email from parents saying please don't close it."

Board member Lawrence Reid said the levels of mold "may affect" those with asthma, allergies or other immune system conditions.

"Every person is different," he said. "Only thing I want to point out is mold spores are everywhere. They are here, they are outside. We will never be able to eliminate all the mold spores."

Some parents decided to have their children stay at home during the process.

"It's completely your prerogative. We understand," Reid said.

Elementary staff said an average of 20-30 children are reported absent each day during the school year; last week 140 students were out for the week.