KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. — Dare County school officials called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to deal with mold issues custodians found in First Flight Elementary and Middle Schools.
The discovery comes just days before students are expected to return to the classroom, and teachers have already been temporarily moved to First Flight High School as a mold mitigation group works to get rid of the problem.
Dare County Schools Superintendent Stephen Basnight said the mold could be found sporadically throughout the building.
"It was not everywhere, but it was on computer covers, tables, carpets, and furniture," said Basnight. "We want to be transparent about the process, and more than anything, we don't want the mold in the buildings."
Dare school board members believe the mold spread throughout the schools because of an issue with the boilers. This coupled with hot temperatures and high humidity allowed the mold to thrive.
Basnight said their team of custodians tried to take care of the problem on their own, but the mold returned.
"We came in and we tried to clean it -- that was last Thursday -- where we wiped everything down. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we saw some more come back and by Monday we were repeating the same process over and over again."
It's why Dare County school board members hired Builder Services N.C. to remove the mold from both schools. Basnight said another company will be brought in to conduct an air quality test to ensure all the mold is gone before students and staff enter the buildings.
Basnight also said they are working on alternative plans in case the mold is not taken care of, but he believes treatments will be successful.
"We're not taking this lightly. We don't want to look back and say what if - or we made a mistake, and that's why we've called out the calvary to get this taken care of," said Basnight.
School leaders hope the problem will be solved by August 23. The new school year begins on August 28.