Mold Prompts Brick High School To Close 5 Classrooms

BRICK, NJ — Surface mold discovered in one classroom prompted Brick Township school officials to close five classrooms in one section of Brick Township High School, district officials announced Monday.

"One classroom in one section of the building appeared to have developed surface mold growth," a letter to parents posted on the district website said. That classroom and four others in that section were closed "in order to exercise the utmost caution."

Surface mold was found in seven classrooms at Emma Havens Young Elementary School less than two weeks before school was to start, and then at Lake Riviera Middle School in six classrooms the following week. In both cases, Richard Lynch of Environmental Safety Management Corp. said the primary contributor to the mold was the excessive humidity that has plagued the area most of the last 8 weeks.

The humidity levels are thought to be the primary cause of the mold at Brick High School, the letter said.

Superintendent Gerard Dalton and Brick Township High School Principal William Kleissler, who signed the letter, said the surfaces are being cleand and disinfected and all of the school's ventilation equipment is being inspected to make sure it is operating properly.

Environmental Safety Management Corp. is testing the air and surfaces and monitoring for temperature and humidity "to assure that all locations are safe prior to occupancy," the letter said.

Emma Havens and Lake Riviera both were cleaned and retested and both schools opened on time.

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