SELINSGROVE, Pa. -- Mold has forced students in the Selinsgrove Area School District from their building.
According to district officials, custodians found white mold in the carpets of several rooms at Selinsgrove Area Intermediate School Tuesday morning. District officials immediately took action and took all of the students and teachers to the nearby high school.
"They found some mold on carpeting in several of the rooms, so we felt that it needed to be addressed immediately," said Superintendent Chad Cohrs.
Tina Kenawell of Penn Township picked up her fifth grade daughter from school like she always does, but on this day she picked her up at Selinsgrove Area High School instead of the intermediate school.
"Didn't they know this before? That would have been nice. Even over the weekend. People are in and out of the school I'm sure over the weekend," said Kenawell.
"They called everybody and let them know and then called back again and explained it a little more. I think they handled it really well," said Lovetta Shambach of Sunbury.
This was the eighth day of school for students in Selinsgrove. Students had already been inside the building, but district officials tell Newswatch 16 the problem was not found until not. There is mold in the middle school's auditorium, which was found previously.
"Mold is a very scary thing, especially with kids that have allergies and asthma problems. It's a concern," Kenawell added.
School is not being canceled and classes will continue. Students at the intermediate school will attend classes in other buildings until the mold is cleaned up.
Starting Wednesday, third grade students will be at the elementary school, fourth graders will be at the high school, and fifth grade students will be at the middle school.
"We think with the long weekend and again with the warm temperatures and humidity, it just reached a point where it was ideal for mold growth to start. So now, we work with the cleanup to get the building back to safe conditions for everybody," Cohrs said.
According to the superintendent, air quality tests were done Tuesday. A remediation crew is coming to the school Wednesday, and it could take at least a week to clean the mold.
This is just the latest of a number of districts in the area to have mold issues this summer.
Students at Chipperfield Elementary and Resica Elementary in Monroe County headed back to class Tuesday after mold was cleaned from those buildings. Students also went back to John S. Clarke Elementary Center in Pottsville on Tuesday.
In Milton, two elementary schools and the high school were closed for mold. On Tuesday, teachers went back. Students will head back Thursday, September 6.
Pleasant Valley Intermediate School in the Poconos is still closed as well as Canton Area in Bradford County due to mold issues there.