Student Relocation Due to Mold at Collins to Continue

The 300-plus elementary students who normally attend  in Barnegat will continue to be relocated to other district schools "until further notice," said superintendent Karen Wood.

Wood said in a news release issued this morning that the district is in the process of reviewing proposals for mold remediation. At this point, she said Thursday, it's not clear how long the process will take.

"It was an emergency," she said of the school's mold problem, . "That was the first problem. Phase two is what we're going to do from now until when the mold is remediated."

Distributing the students among the three other district elementary schools and has gone remarkably well, said Wood, and administrators have met to find ways to tweak the process to make it easier on everyone.

"Every day is getting a little better," she said.

Wood said in this morning's press release that she knew the relocation has placed a burden on families, staff and students. The key now, she said, was quickly finding an affordable way to get rid of the mold once and for all.

"Again, the most important issue is providing a healthy and safe environment for our staff and students," she said.

The district will hold an information forum for families on mold at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12 at , where officials will discuss the specifics of the mold removal process, procedures and timelines.