Most Portland public school students will head back to classrooms on Wednesday, but those enrolled at Talbot Community School will stay home until Friday.

Mold was found in more than a dozen of the school’s classrooms in mid-August, and district officials said more time is needed to clean and retest the building.

“Out of an abundance of caution related to the mold situation, we will now open the school to staff on Thursday, Sept. 7. All students … will begin on Friday, Sept. 8,” Superintendent Ryan Scallon wrote in a letter to the community.

The mold, Aspergillus, is common and generally not harmful to those with healthy immune systems, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People with weakened immune systems or lung disease are more at risk of health problems such as lung infections.

Mold was first seen by a teacher on Aug. 16. The teacher informed the district that day and experts hired by the district confirmed mold in 16 classrooms and two offices on Aug. 18. The district informed the community in a letter from Scallon the next day. Follow-up testing found mold in other parts of the building, including the administrative offices.

Talbot was built in 1975 and was expanded in 2007. It has an enrollment of 382 students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

An environmental consultant hired by the district originally thought the mold was likely caused by the extremely rainy and humid summer.

Rainy and humid weather increases mold growth because mold spores attach themselves to damp surfaces. This past summer was particularly wet in Portland. The city got more than 17 inches of rain compared to an average of about nine inches, according to the National Weather Service.

But Sarah Warren, executive director of operations for Portland schools, said Friday that “we now believe – after subsequent investigation – that while the humid summer may have been a factor, it was probably not the root cause.”

Scallon’s Aug. 31 letter says the district has been trying to determine the root cause. He said the district plans to improve ventilation to reduce humidity levels and will change the way carpets are cleaned “so as not to exacerbate moisture levels.”

Warren said mold in school buildings is not a new problem and the district consults with experts about how to respond when it is discovered. Mold can be cleaned by school staff in some cases.

“There were some issues with mold found in some spaces in other school buildings earlier in the summer,” Warren said in an email. “When mold is identified, we work with our environmental consultants and staff to remediate. In Talbot’s case, the issue was the number of spaces affected.”

An official with the Maine School Management Association said the organization is not aware of increased mold-related problems in Maine schools this summer.

Most of the Talbot school spaces that had mold have been cleaned and cleared for use, but some areas needed additional cleaning, the district said. The district plans to remediate all those areas and test air quality to ensure they are safe for use before opening on Friday.

“We apologize to Talbot staff, students and families for the delay. We are committed to ensuring a safe school environment for all staff and students,” Scallon wrote.

Bagged breakfast and lunch will be available for Talbot students on Wednesday and Thursday between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.

“On Thursday, Sept. 7, we expect that all spaces except for the gym will be cleaned and cleared for occupancy,” Scallon wrote. “We will not occupy the gym until it is cleared, which we anticipate will happen by early in the week of Sept. 11. We also will retest the building later in the fall.”

 

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