Parents express concerns about mold at Topsail Middle School
HAMPSTEAD, NC (WWAY) –Some parents of students who attend a Pender County middle school are expressing concerns about air quality and possible mold contamination, after they say their children have been getting sick.
Recent assessments have found mold and elevated carbon dioxide levels in the school.
Concerned parents say they have been aware of possible mold issues at Topsail Middle School since last year.
“It’s been and ongoing issue for years, long before my kids went to school there. It’s absolutely a bigger deal than they’re making it seem like it is, when they were remediating the roof we were flying new air handlers up, which they’ve mentioned I’m sure, and all the contractors knew it then that there was mold,” said Sean Kennedy, parent of two 5th graders at Topsail Middle School.
In October of 2021, Cheatham and Associates was contracted by Pender County Schools to provide an assessment of HVAC systems at the district’s schools the identified elevated mold spore counts in multiple spaces, and co2 levels.
ECS Southeast was also contracted to assess the district’s school buildings earlier this year, and found evidence of mold spores in Topsail Middle’s 7th grade building, cafeteria, a classroom, and gymnasium.
“Read a few of those that came out last year, discussing the air quality at the school and– you know, it’s like oh that sounds terrible, and didn’t really put two and two together until the last couple of weeks of wondering if could that be the same reason that’s causing my son to not feel well and have an increase allergies symptoms and skin rashes, and some missed days at school already this year,” said Maggie Consey, parent of 7th grader at Topsail Middle School.
The school district is expecting a new indoor air quality report to be released by EI Group by the end of the week.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services provided WWAY with a statement, which read in part “NCDHHS is aware of the concerns at Topsail Middle School, and we are consulting with Pender County Schools and the local health department to help resolve these issues. We have ensured that local officials are educated on these matters, and have access to necessary health and safety recommendations and resources.”
“It’s irritating for them, to be on different medicines. ‘Is it my allergies, is it this, is it that?, when all of those factors are ruled out, but you can’t get answers on the one issue you feel is the cause,” said Kennedy.
“To see what the new report is going to say, is it consistent and back up the previous reports, which you would think would have been valid enough information and see what the next step is,” said Consey.
Pender County Schools says once the district receives the indoor air quality assessment, it will be posted to the district’s and topsail middle school’s webpages. A spokesperson with Pender County Schools said the district follows recommendations made by the company’s air quality assessments, to address any issues that are found, which will be made public.
