JACKSON — Several months after an issue with black mold at the Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School caused concern for many parents, the Jackson School District Board of Education has approved a measure that some people in the district believe will prevent the issue from cropping up again this summer.
On March 25, board members approved a motion to allow Business Administrator Michelle Richardson to submit plans to replace the school’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system to the Ocean County Superintendent of Schools, the New Jersey Department of Education and the Jackson Zoning Board of Adjustment.
The board appointed the architectural firm Fraytak Veisz Hopkins Duthie to work on the project.
“The purpose of the HVAC system is to condition and remove the humidity from the school’s air,” district spokeswoman Allison Erwin said. “We believe the HVAC system was the culprit [for the mold] in the first place.”
Just prior to the start of the 2013-14 school year, staff members at the Rosenauer school reported numerous mold growths on hard surfaces throughout the building. A cleaning firm was hired to remediate the problem.
According to Erwin, administrators expect the HVAC replacement project to cost upward of $475,000. Funding for the project is expected to come from the 2013-14 capital improvement budget. No state aid will be used to pay for the HVAC replacement project, according to Erwin.
She said since the mold was discovered in the Rosenauer school, administrators have watched the issue to make certain no students were at risk.
“We have not had any issues [since September],” Erwin said. “The custodians have been on top of it, and the school is closely monitored.”
In the days following the discovery of the mold, Richardson said, staff members were taught the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s protocol for mold remediation and monitored all areas of the Rosenauer school daily.
Recognizing that the board’s recent actions are just the first step in addressing the HVAC issue, Erwin said administrators are hoping to have the work finished during the summer break.
— Andrew Martins