Andrews Elementary School students should be able return to their campus for the first day of school on August 28th provided mold remediation work and third party air quality testing is completed, according to Alamance-Burlington School System’s Chief Operations Officer.
“What we found in both Andrews and Newlin is that the fresh air system was not sequenced correctly with the chiller. So if it's humid outdoors you don’t have the correct mixture of cooled air and fresh air in the building. That’s what contributed to the mold growth,” said Greg Hook, Chief Operations Officer.
The ABSS Board of Education approved a $495,000 contract today with Sasser Restoration to conduct comprehensive mold remediation at Newlin Elementary. A contingency plan is being developed to possibly relocate Newlin students and staff to another campus temporarily if the work is not completed in time for opening day August 28th.
Once the work is completed, the District will have spent over $1.2 million mold remediation and HVAC system repairs.
In addition to the major projects at Andrews and Newlin, ABSS has implemented a districtwide plan to proactively evaluate and address any smaller-scale indoor air quality issues at campuses. HVAC systems are being closely monitored to ensure optimal ventilation.
In other action, the Board approved two new administrators. Antonio Moses was named the new assistant principal at Graham High School. Moses has spent the past few years working as a teacher, instructional assistant, and principal intern at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
Longtime ABSS administrator Donna King was appointed to serve as the interim AP at Southern Alamance Middle School.