DEL SUR (KGTV)- The Poway Unified School District says Del Sur Elementary students will temporarily relocate to Stone Ranch Elementary next week while crews continue investigating mold and moisture problems at the school.
The district says most areas that were tested are now in an acceptable range, but other areas still need more work.
The entire Del Sur Elementary student body — nearly 1,000 students — will move to Stone Ranch Elementary for approximately one month. The district expects students to return to Del Sur on Sept. 21.
Parent Jenn Knight, who has 2 kids attending Del Sur Elementary, said she understands the decision and is relieved there is a plan, but still has concerns.
"We have a very large school, almost 1,000 students moving into another school, we're concerned about capacity and how all of that is going to play out," Knight said.
Knight said many questions remain unanswered for Del Sur families.
"There's still a lot of unknowns. We still have not been told the source of the mold; that's a big lingering question parents have. We still don't know what's going to be done to prevent this from happening again. We want to know what ongoing testing will be done," Knight said.
Parents are also worried about the instructional time their children have already missed.
"Only our students have been out of school. Where do they start in the curriculum? How do we make up that time? Does that go into summer?" Knight said.
Pediatrician Dr. Pejman Katiraei said parents who are concerned about mold exposure should watch for certain symptoms in their children.
"A kid that was fine is now getting sick all the time, is congested, and has ear infections. A constant pattern of congestion, allergies, and illness. For other kids, it shows up neurologically where they've got learning problems, they can't focus, they can't process, they've become anxious, depressed, or they become reactive," Katiraei said.
Knight said parents want a permanent solution and answers about the root cause of the problem.
"Seeing more results about what's inside the walls and underneath the carpets would be a great place to start. We really want to know that information before we can decide how comfortable we'd be with the current progress," Knight said.
The district says remediation efforts are continuing.
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