Both Homer-Center and Ligonier Valley school districts are delaying classes due to mold-related issues.
On Friday, Homer-Center Superintendent Ralph Cecere announced that more time was needed to complete cleaning and testing at the district’s elementary school, where aspergillus spores were found in a few elementary classrooms. The start of class for elementary students has been delayed, but the secondary grades of 7-12 will start class tomorrow. Students will also attend classes this Friday, which was originally scheduled as a vacation day as part of Labor Day weekend. Parents of elementary students will receive a two-day notification of when classes will start, and if classes start this week, there will be class on Friday.
Meanwhile, Ligonier Valley School buildings are closed for mold remediation and air quality testing. Last week, district officials said three classrooms at R.K. Mellon Elementary had traces of mold found in the building. Superintendent Matthew Mols said in a letter to the district that cleaning efforts were done on Thursday and air quality samples were collected on Friday. The follow up tests showed the targeted classrooms still had levels above what was recommended for occupancy. A professional cleaning company has been brought in for the elementary school, and the Laurel Valley Elementary School along with the district’s middle and high schools will close for air quality testing today.
