Mom Calls For Environmental Inspection At 3 Middletown Elementary Schools, Says There's Possibly Mold

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A Middletown mom said it's time to raise alarm bells — again — about a potential mold issue in Middletown schools.

Mold has been an issue in Middletown schools before. In September 2021, the school district was forced to delay the first day of school after surface mold was found in several classrooms. The school district had to pay Toms River-based ServPro $560,000 to remove mold at a total of four school buildings, Patch reported at the time.

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But according to Rebecca Lara, who has two children enrolled in the district, the mold problem in Middletown schools may not have gone away.

Last week, May 11, Lara sent a letter to all members of the Middletown school board, where she detailed photos and video of mold, plus water pooling in crawl spaces at Harmony, Bayview and Lincroft elementaries. See one of those videos here: youtube.com/shorts/E9pOK2y9bJI

"There have been long-standing environmental concerns in Middletown elementary schools," Lara told Patch. "A lot of kids complain about the smell; they say the air coming out of the air conditioning units smells really bad. Kids and teachers alike say this."

But it's not just kids. Lara, who is also an attorney, said a former HVAC maintenance mechanic for the Middletown school district contacted her this spring. He is the one who gave her the photos and videos.

Lara said he told his supervisors, multiple times, over an extended period of time, about possible mold growth, which he thinks is not being addressed correctly.

His supervisors addressed it, but not adequately, she said. It was rather "quick fixes," she said.

The former HVAC mechanic says he was told to resign or face termination after he filed a work order where he documented potentially harmful discharge coming from the district's HVAC units.

School superintendent Jessica Alfone did not respond to allegations made in this story.

Lara does not want to publicly reveal the former HVAC's mechanic's name. But she said he is willing to speak with the Middletown school board directly, privately.

The former district employee noted four problem areas in particular:

1. Spray coating inside HVAC units may be deteriorating: Five years ago, the Middletown school district applied a specialized spray coating to the interior of the Airedale HVAC air handler units at all schools across the district. Today, that spray coating is disintegrating and particles may be getting into air conditioning circulating through classrooms.

2. Potential mold in the boys' bathroom at Harmony Elementary: Ceiling tiles removed from the boy’s bathroom on the first floor at Harmony show "extensive biological growth consistent with mold resulting from water intrusion from the bathroom above," said Lara.

"The tile surface is substantially covered in dark biological growth," Lara wrote. "We understand the administration directed the affected tiles to be replaced and committed to addressing underlying conditions during Easter break."

But Lara says the former HVAC mechanic told her the work was never done.

3. Water in crawl space at Harmony Elementary: This video shows a crawl space beneath Harmony Elementary School that gets water inside from melting snow. The footage shows water actively pooling and rippling on the crawl space floor. Classroom piping passes through the floor through holes that are not sealed, which may allow crawl space air and contaminants to reach classrooms, she said.

4. Lincroft Elementary roof is leaking: The former HVAC technician says Lincroft Elementary School has experienced an ongoing roof leak affecting at least one classroom for years.

The leak has been reported internally on multiple occasions. He says it hasn't been properly repaired because doing so would require the removal of rooftop solar panels, a cost the district is unwilling to incur.

Lara says she has internal documents showing that on April 20, a teacher at Bayview Elementary School experienced eye irritation after a black-particle discharge could be seen coming from the classroom's HVAC unit. The black particles could be seen all over the teachers's desk, which was directly under the HVAC vent.

Patti Kelly, a teacher at Middletown High School North and president of the Middletown teachers' union, the MTEA, said she could not confirm that, as she is not allowed to comment on union member's health.

But she did she was "aware" of the concerns in school buildings, and has "been working with district administration and the New Jersey Work Environment Council to ensure the health and safety of our members."

Lara wants an independent environmental review

Lara said the main thing she's asking for is for the school district to pay for an independent environmental inspection, done by a certified industrial hygienist, at the three elementary schools: Bayview, Harmony and Lincroft.

"Let's check all the schools in the district for mold; not just these three," she told Patch Tuesday. "I would be very curious to know if there are staff members in Middletown schools who are experiencing headaches, asthma or whatever it may be and they are being told 'nothing is wrong, everything is safe.'"

Lara said she has not contacted any regulatory agencies, such as the New Jersey Department of Health or Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH), the state agency that enforces occupational health and safety for public employees.

Lara said she has faith the Middletown school board can address this problem effectively on their own.

"We recognize that regulatory avenues exist for matters of this kind," she wrote in her May 11 letter. "We are not pursuing those avenues at this time because we believe the Board will act ... We hope this letter is received in the spirit in which it is intended: As an opportunity for the Board to get ahead of a serious situation."

Board president Chris Aveta and vice president Frank Capone did not respond for this article.

But Board member Sara Weinstein said she does want to speak publicly about the concerns Lara raised.

"I am deeply disappointed that a potentially unhealthy and unsafe situation within our schools was kept from the Board of Education," Weinstein said. "When concerns involving student or staff health and safety are not communicated openly and promptly, it undermines the Board’s ability to fulfill its responsibility to provide proper oversight and make informed decisions in the best interest of our schools."

Weinstein, who supported closing some Middletown schools this year, warned future issues like this might arise with Middletown's aging school buildings.

"This situation also highlights the importance of maintaining a truly balanced budget that includes responsible financial reserves," she continued. "Best practice calls for maintaining at least 2 percent of the operating budget in reserve to help protect the district from unexpected costs and emergencies. In a district of this size, with aging buildings and infrastructure, we must be prepared for major facility issues that can arise without warning."

On this topic: Mold found in two more Middletown schools, start date stands at Sept. 13 (Asbury Park Press, 2021)

(Middletown Patch, 2021)