SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Hundreds of students won’t be returning to Del Sur Elementary School in the new year.
In an update emailed to parents Monday, the Poway Unified School District set July 9, 2027, as the new target reopening date for the building.
Officials closed the school abruptly the night before the start of the school year in August following the discovery of mold. Hundreds of students were moved to Stone Ranch Elementary as a result.
Internal records and photos obtained by Team 10 through a public records request show district officials have been aware for years of concerns of mold at the campus.
'No one truly listened'
“I'm honestly horrified seeing those photos that you were able to obtain,” said Kristen Montan, a parent whose daughter used to attend the school.
Montan started a Facebook page called Fighting the Mold at Del Sur Elementary a few years ago.
She told us she raised concerns about mold at the school and was concerned about her daughter’s health.
“No one truly listened. No one really gave a good response before they were just calling it a moisture-related issue,” Montan said.
Photos obtained by Team 10 that were taken in August show what a mold expert told us appeared to be black mold inside the school’s HVAC system.
Mold on carpet, white board: document
We also obtained photos of workers dressed in hazmat suits as they cleaned the school and images of filthy vents covered in black spots and carpet with black spots.
Records show that Del Sur Elementary has been plagued by mold issues for years. In a 2024 document obtained by Team 10, six rooms were listed as a “concern.”
Samples from two rooms were classified as “unacceptable.”
The 2024 document states Stachybotrys, which is commonly known as black mold, was growing on carpet and at the top of a white board frame.
More than $766K in costs
The district told parents Monday that a mold assessment of the main building and two portable buildings from September 30 – October 8 identified microbial growth on chilled-water pipe of the first floor and water staining on pipe insulation throughout the buildings. There was also elevated moisture in mechanical closets and the maintenance room.
“Positively, there is no evidence of Stachybotrys chartarum, also commonly known as “black mold,” the district told parents.
In September, district officials said students would not return to Del Sur until January 2027.
Last week, Team 10 revealed the district had spent more than $766,000 in costs this year related to the mold issues at Del Sur Elementary.
Over the past few months, crews have been working to repair the school’s HVAC system and have tried to fix humidity issues that records show have plagued the campus for years.
Crews have also removed flooring and some wall and ceiling materials.
District hasn't granted on camera-interview
On Monday, the district told parents a new HVAC system is now needed.
Parents were told Poway Unified is almost done with its investigation into the underlying causes of mold growth at Del Sur. Officials will brief the district’s board on November 5 at the 6 p.m. meeting to go over the findings.
Poway Unified has not made any district official available to answer our questions on camera despite repeated requests over the past few months.
In an email, spokesman Steven Baratte said the district takes the health and safety of students seriously, which is why it has undergone such rigorous testing and remediation efforts.
We asked the district to respond to Montan’s concerns, but Baratte declined.
“Out of respect for the privacy of our students and staff, we will not comment about specific allegations, but our district has been communicating with Del Sur families and staff on an ongoing basis, providing updates when available. And we address individual concerns as they are brought to us,” he said.
Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish can be reached at austin.grabish@10news.com
