West Elementary School
Additionally, to clarify, the meeting for parent(s)/guardian(s) will be held at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, February 19. This meeting will be held in the gym.
February 12, 2020
West Elementary Families,
Excessive rainy conditions this past fall led to consistently saturated conditions in the ground surrounding our school. This oversaturation also caused water in the tunnels below the school, which was pumped out and the tunnels were dried. This occurred at several other schools this past fall.
With the safety of our students and employees at the forefront, Grand Forks Public Schools contracted with a local company to conduct tests to determine if the presence of that water led to any mold within our school environments.
Nine air samples at West were collected and analyzed and the air sample in the library had, “marginally elevated levels of Aspergillus/Penicillium.” During what is called a tape-lift sample, mold was discovered on pipe insulation beneath the school and on the west wall in the library. This type of mold is commonly found in soil and damp areas.
We have hired a local company to clean and provide air filtration in the affected areas. This will require the removal of sheetrock on the exterior wall in the library to expose the mold. The heating system will also need to be shut down during this process.
Out of an abundance of caution, and in order to safely remediate (remove) the mold with no exposure to students and employees, we will be relocating West Elementary classrooms to a yet to be determined site on/around Monday, February 24th. We are also working on arrangements to provide busing for students who live within the West boundary lines. School will continue to be in session at West until we move to the new location.
We will hold a meeting for parent(s)/guardian(s) at West on Wednesday, February 19th at 5 p.m. We will have more information available about the relocation site and can answer any questions or concerns you have.
While we hope to return to the school this spring, depending on the extent of the remediation process, we may need to remain at the alternate location for the remainder of the school year.
This information was communicated to West Elementary employees this afternoon. Grand Forks Public Schools will be providing them with time and resources from the Buildings and Grounds Department to move their classrooms.
The complete findings of the tests can be found in a report at https://www.gfschools.org/Page/8945. Should you have any questions regarding the information in the report, please contact Chris Arnold, Director of Buildings and Grounds, at 701-746-2205, ext. 7177.
Thank you-
Mrs. Elisa Diederich, Principal Designee