REPOST: Months after being closed due to mold, Starke Elementary reopens

Emily Miller of  The Gainesville Sun writes about the recent reopening Starke Elementary, which had been closed due to unacceptable air quality brought about by mold and other particulate matter.

Image Source: www.gainesville.com

Z’rya Davis spun in circles — her purple backpack and Hello Kitty jacket in hand and a mural with the words “Home of the Eagles” painted on the wall behind her. The 10-year-old is a fourth-grader at Starke Elementary School, and she couldn’t be happier to be back at her school.

“I love Starke Elementary, and it is my favorite school,” she said.

Z’rya is one of about 500 students who returned to Starke Elementary Tuesday after more than six months at alternate locations. Bradford County Schools Superintendent Chad Farnsworth closed the school on Aug. 23 after a building health report that he ordered determined the school had unacceptable air quality because of mold and mildew.

“You had to clean everything,” said Brian Graham, community relations coordinator for the Bradford County School District. “If items were unable to be cleaned, they were thrown away and replaced.”

The renovations cost about $2 million, and funding came from School Board reserves and loans, Graham said.

Prior to the renovations, classrooms had visible mold, the air quality was poor and the cafeteria vents dripped condensation, Graham said. The district replaced all carpet with tile and cleaned everything from furniture, vents and ceiling tiles to every instrument in the music room and all 14,000 books in the library.

The bulk of the money went toward installing a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, system. The previous system had a lifespan of 15 years and was installed when the school was built 16 years ago, Graham said.

For the full article, click here.

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