Report Forthcoming On What Caused Mold In Middletown Schools

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — This coming Monday, Nov. 22, the Middletown school district is slated to receive a report detailing what exactly caused a mold overgrowth in Middletown schools, and delayed the start of the school year.

Mold was found at four Middletown schools: Nut Swamp, Lincroft, Navesink and New Monmouth, all elementary schools.

This was surface mold, according to school board member Frank Capone, not the kind of black mold that grows behind walls or on beams, but rather fuzzy, thick mold that was found on chairs and desks throughout the elementary school classrooms.

The first day of school was supposed to be Sept. 8, but the mold discovery delayed it to Sept. 13.

The school district hired ServPro of Toms River to remove the mold and, as previously reported, ServPro billed the Middletown school district $560,000 for the work.

The district then separately hired an environmental consultant, RK Occupational and Environmental Analysis, Inc., to test all buildings in the district for mold and give a report on what caused the mold. That consultant asked to be paid $152,000. It is unknown if the district paid them yet.

At the BOE meeting this past Monday, Capone called for a "thorough investigation" into what caused the mold and said he "wasn't thrilled" with previous updates given by RK Occupational.

"I think there's no accountability; we spent three quarters of a million dollars, we need to know what was done properly and improperly so this does not happen in the future," said Capone. Capone oversees facility maintenance in the district.

Board member Jackie Tobacco seconded Capone's call for an investigation, but school administrators said at Monday night's meeting RK Occupational already prepared a report on the mold — it just hasn't been handed in to the district yet. Business administrator Amy Gallagher said the consultant was dealing with a death in the family, among other issues, and that's why the report was delayed; she said the district would be presented with the report within a month.

Capone instead asked if the board could have the report by their next meeting, Monday, Nov. 22, and Gallagher said that was possible.

Board member Deb Wright said it was her understanding that the age of the buildings might have contributed to the mold, and cautioned that the board should wait to review this full report that was already paid for before spending more money on a new investigation.

Board president Joan Minnuies also said it has long been considered that all the HVAC systems in Middletown schools should be replaced, and the district has just been trying to find enough money in the budget to make it happen.

Related: Mold Discovery Delays Middletown School Start Date To Sept. 13 (Aug. 31)

Mold Present In 2 Additional Middletown Schools (Sept. 3)

Middletown School District Billed $560K For Mold Remediation (Sept. 23)

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