SAN DIEGO — Mold discovered at Black Mountain Middle School has forced officials to adjust classrooms shortly into the school year, according to a letter sent out to families Saturday night.
This marks the second school in the Poway Unified School District to have mold concerns this school year; Del Sur Elementary was forced to delay the start of their school year after mold was found in several areas of the campus.
See previous ABC 10News coverage of mold impacts at Del Sur Elementary in the player above.
Mold concerns were originally observed by Black Mountain Middle School staff in buildings 10A and 10B and officials reassigned a class to a different room before the school year began after visibly spotting mold, according to the letter.
After preliminary laboratory data was collected across August 15 and 18, a total of eight classrooms had "low levels of mold spore," while six classrooms had "high levels of mold spores."
The district also emphasizes that this is preliminary data, stating, "The industrial hygienist has advised us that these are raw laboratory results and should not be interpreted as the final assessment."
District officials told ABC 10News that they are taking steps to remedy the issue, including "working diligently... to address the affected spaces, investigate the source of the moisture, and ensure any necessary remediation."
Any students who have a specific medical concern are urged to consult their healthcare provider.
Officials also tell ABC 10News that updated reports for Black Mountain Middle School are expected later Sunday night.
Read the full statement below:
"Black Mountain Middle School Families and Staff,
We are writing to share what we know today about a mold and moisture concern at Black Mountain Middle School, the steps already taken, and what families and staff can expect next. We want to provide information now rather than wait until every technical question is resolved.
After summer cleaning and before the school year began, the principal reported observing visible mold in Room 1016 and subsequently identified concerns in additional classrooms in Buildings 10A and 10B. The rooms were re-cleaned on Monday, August 10, but a musty odor persisted in some areas. The class assigned to Room 1016 was reassigned by the principal to another location before students started the school year on Thursday, August 13.
Following the principal’s notification to the District, an independent industrial hygienist was contracted to collect air samples from all classrooms in Buildings 10A and 10B on Saturday, August 15. Separate sampling was also conducted in Rooms 402 and 807 on August 18.
The District has received preliminary laboratory data from that sampling. The industrial hygienist has advised us that these are raw laboratory results and should not be interpreted as the final assessment. He expects to provide the District tomorrow, Sunday, August 23, with the updated reports that include a cover sheet and professional interpretation. We believe it is important to follow that guidance, providing families with the information we can responsibly share now while also waiting for that complete professional assessment.
Here is what we can share now. Based on the Industrial Hygienist’s preliminary classifications:
- Rooms with Low levels of mold spores: 402, 807, 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1006, 1017
- Rooms with Moderate levels of mold spores: none
- Rooms with High levels of mold spores: 1005, 1012, 1013, 1014, 1015, 1016 (the class assigned to Room 1016 was reassigned to another location before students started the school year)
“Low” means the testing did not identify elevated indoor mold-spore conditions in those rooms and, based on the industrial hygienist’s assessment, the results are consistent with normal occupancy.
The District is working with the industrial hygienist to establish room-by-room recommendations for remediation and return to use. While we wait for the updated reports, we are continuing to act on the conditions already observed and on the information available to us.
Rooms 1005, 1013, 1014, and 1016 will remain unoccupied; rooms 1012, 1015 and 1017 were moved to alternate spaces by the principal after school on Friday, August 21, so additional work can be completed.
We also want to explain why professional interpretation matters. There is no federal or California numerical airborne-mold standard that creates a universal “safe” or “unsafe” cutoff for a classroom. Air sampling is only one part of an evaluation that also considers visible conditions, odor, moisture, building materials and the source of moisture. Short-term air testing is a snapshot of conditions at the time of sampling and cannot determine any individual person’s cumulative past exposure or whether a particular person experienced a health effect.
The District is taking the following actions:
- Receiving, reviewing, then publicly distributing the industrial hygienist’s updated reports which include room-by-room recommendations.
- Conducting additional moisture and building-condition investigation to determine why mold developed and to identify any underlying moisture source.
- Completing professional cleaning/remediation in affected spaces and retesting them.
- Reviewing the summer carpet-cleaning, drying and HVAC conditions in Buildings 10A and 10B as part of the root-cause investigation.
- Monitoring conditions after remediation to make sure the issue does not recur.
- Implementing a districtwide mold/moisture response protocol so visible mold, persistent mold odor, recurrence after cleaning, or concerns involving multiple rooms trigger prompt supervisor notification and professional review.
- Revising carpet-cleaning and drying procedures to require active moisture control and documented drying verification before rooms are closed or returned to use.
- Providing additional training for custodians, supervisors and school administrators on recognizing moisture/mold concerns, reporting and escalation requirements, documentation, and when professional environmental review is required.
We are sharing this update now even though the technical report is not yet final, and we will continue to communicate what is known, what remains under review, and what actions are being taken.
If you or your student have a specific medical concern, please consult your healthcare provider. Employees should report workplace concerns to their supervisor.
We will provide our next update tomorrow evening, Sunday, August 23, after we receive and review the updated reports and the industrial hygienist’s cover sheet. We intend to share the updated reports with that update. If the reports are delayed or additional clarification is needed, we will still provide a status update tomorrow evening and explain what remains pending.
Thank you for your patience as we address this carefully and transparently."
