ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — The Alamance-Burlington School System (ABBS) is moving forward with a mold remediation project at three of its schools. A joint three-hour meeting with the county commission was held Monday afternoon discussing updates to the ongoing mold issues and how the district will pay for the remediation.
ABSS discovered mold inside five schools with the concern of it potentially being in about 15 to 20 more schools. The discussion involved what the solution can be, how to pay for it and when will students return to school.
“School board asked the county commissioners, ‘please tell us if we use these funds to fix these 15 to 20 schools, that you will have our back that we can replace this, that we can still do this work.’ They would not. The commissioners need to fund our school,” said Theresa Droughn, a parent.
County commissioners felt the school system should repurpose money set aside for other items to fix the mold issue.
After discussion, ABSS will allocate up to $3.5 million from the district’s capital reserve funds to fix the mold issue at Cummings High School, Broadview Middle School and Williams High School. But some parents feel the money should not have to be paid by the school system.
“Our children are always being placed last, and we as parents have to step up, and we have to make the decision to put them first. And that starts with our elected officials. It starts with the people that sit on this board,” said Brandy Whittaker, another parent.
The removal of the mold and repairs done to the schools will start quickly with the goal of students returning to school by next Tuesday.
Andrews Elementary and Newlin Elementary schools have already had their mold issues resolved.
ABSS approved a mold remediation contractor based out of Raleigh to complete the work. The company has committed to working 14- to 16-hour days in order to get the schools ready for students.
The school system will have another meeting with the county commission for another update at 10 a.m. Wednesday.