The assistant superintendent for Indian River County schools said Monday that Osceola Magnet School is safe, despite finding mold in several classrooms.
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Over the weekend, professional mold remediation teams were brought in to deep clean three wings where surface mold was found. Jon Teske, the assistant superintendent, said at no point was the building ever considered toxic.
“We’ve taken extra precautionary measures to ensure the school is safe and the air quality is in an acceptable range," said Teske.
About 30-percent of the student body was not on campus Monday, but that also includes children who don't start kindergarten until Tuesday. The district is waiting on air quality test results before opening up all of the school wings.
Teske says the district kept the air conditioning running during the summer, but mechanical issues may have led to high humidity in some classrooms.
“We want to put parents minds at ease and teachers and staff to ensure that air quality is safe," said Teske.
The school principal sent repeated phone messages to parents.
That gave parent Ashley Sullivan peace of mind.
“He communicated very well with everybody I think and honestly we live in Florida so there’s probably mold in every single place you go," said Sullivan.
The district is hoping to get kindergarten and first graders in their classrooms by Thursday, and the campus completely back to normal by Monday.
