Parents in Montgomery County continue to complain to 7News about suspected mold inside their children’s schools.
Donesha Price shared photos of what she saw at Goshen Elementary in Gaithersburg, a week before school started.
When she visited the school, she said the air felt warm and wet and smelled like fresh mold. She told 7News she spotted what appeared to be mold on classroom furniture, laptops, ceiling tiles, and a bulletin board.
Her daughter is in the third grade and has Type 1 Diabetes.
Price is now concerned about how the air in the school could affect her child’s health.
“I should not feel like I should have to homeschool my daughter. She enjoys the school she goes to. She has friends there. It is the county’s responsibility, the Board of Education, they have to put the children first,” she said.
Price told 7News that after she complained to the school system, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) sent out workers to clean up the spores.
In April, 7News told you about what appeared to be mold at New Hampshire Estates Elementary in Silver Spring. We emailed a parent at the school for an update and she said there are still problems.
RELATED |
MCPS Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor .
On Sept. 4, the school board president asked him about how MCPS is handling buildings with air quality and mold issues.
Taylor responded that MCPS is closely monitoring a number of school sites and acknowledged problems with poor HVAC systems.
He called the challenge an ongoing issue that the school district will have to contend with for quite some time.
“This is an area we need to focus on, and it is something that will take many years to correct. We take it very seriously. Health and safety is number one for us,” Taylor said.
7News emailed MCPS asking what the school system is specifically doing to address the problem.
Price wants the school system to provide regular HVAC system checks at her daughter’s school to ensure heating and cooling equipment functions properly.
We asked MCPS if it would consider doing so at all schools — Representatives did not answer our questions.
Here’s what MCPS parent Nancy McInerney shared with us about conditions at New Hampshire Estates Elementary: