Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During an often contentious meeting of the Madison County District School Board on Monday, July 21, the board heard from representatives of the Florida School Board Insurance Trust (FISBIT) and an Indoor Environmental Specialist regarding the presence of mold in some rooms of Madison County High School (MCHS) and Madison County Central School (MCCS). Madison County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Pickles also provided several pages of documentation detailing the timeline of events leading up to measures to mitigate the mold before the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.
According to the information provided by Dr. Pickles, the issue began when Patrick White notified FSBIT about concerns over a substance found on carpeted areas of MCHS and MCCS on Tuesday, July 8. On Wednesday, July 9, Scott Jones, from Belfor, a company on hand to help with the assessment process, indicated to Dr. Pickles that “the substance was microbial growth.” A claim is filed is filed and is under review with a request for expedited determinations “as soon as possible.” On Thursday, July 10 a walk through was conducted at MCHS with Jones, Dr. Travis Blue from MCHS and an Industrial Hygienist. Discussion centered around the next steps for remediation. All Pride Environmental and Restoration, LLC. was called upon to assess the situation.
Mike Ovens, President of All Pride Environmental and Restoration, provided a report to Dr. Pickles, which she shared along with her documentation. Ovens arrived at MCHS on Friday, July 11, and had a walk through of the school with Dr. Blue. Ovens was given a key and was allowed to perform an inspection.
“During my inspection of the high school, I found visible mold growth on a large portion of the carpeted areas throughout the building,” stated Ovens in his report. “There was visible mold growth on both horizontal and vertical surfaces inside the carpeted areas. No visible mold growth was noted in areas of the building without carpeting.
“I collected samples throughout the building, including swab (to identify species of source), air (to identify potential aerosolization) and tape/lift (to identify potential areas of cross contamination) to be analyzed by a third party laboratory.”
In his immediate recommendations, Ovens suggested access to the building should be limited and anyone entering should at a minimum wear an N95 mask until remediation activities are complete.
The lab analysis concluded that “aspergillum was identified from the swab sample of visible growth, found at the high school. High concentrations (aerosolization) of aspergillus were identified from the air samples collected from the carpeted areas of the high school. Concentrations of aspergillus were identified [in the] tape lift samples collected from carpeted areas of the high school. No elevations of mold concentration (aerosolization) were identified from the air samples collected from [MCCS]. Slight concentrations of mold sepecies were identified in the tape/lift samples collected from carpeted areas of the Central School.”
“As a certified and state licensed Indoor Air Professional and Mold Remediation Contractor, it is my professional opinion that this property is not safe for occupancy, and professional mold remediation is necessary,” stated Ovens.
The remediation process at both schools began and included the following protocols. At MCHS:
• Install MERV Eight filters to all return points of the HVAC system. Filters to be maintained throughout remediation activities.
• Establish barriers (visqueen door flap) in carpeted room doorways to separate “affected areas” (visible growth) from “unaffected areas,” to minimize cross contamination potentials, protect occupants/workers during remediation.
• Deploy dehumidification units (entire building) to stabilize structure and to control ambient humidity during restoration/remediation services less than 55 percent relative humidity; excluding gym.
• Deploy HEPA air filtration devices, entire building (used to “scrub” air during remediation, prevent further cross contamination, protect occupants/workers) (minimum four exchanges per hour); excluding gym.
• Professionally clean (hot water/steam) (with antimicrobial solution) carpeting and all the upholstery found in carpeted areas of the building. Once the carpeting is dry, HEPA vac all carpet/upholstery surfaces.
• Clean (HEPA vac/wipe down)in place, all hard surface content found in carpeted areas of the building.
• All soft goods, porous materials with visible mold growth should be disposed of.
• Air wash all ceilings in carpeted areas of the building.
• Air wash, in place, all books from the media room.
• HEPA vac all wall and horizontal surfaces found in carpeted areas.
• Wipe down all wall and horizontal surfaces found in carpeted areas.
• Allow air exchange to run for at least 48 hours post remediation and until remediation success has been verified.
In the unaffected areas without carpeting:
• Deploy dehumidification units (entire building) to stabilize structure and to control ambient humidity during restoration/remediation services less than 55 percent relative humidity; excluding gym.
• Deploy HEPA air filtration devices, entire building (used to “scrub” air during remediation, prevent further cross contamination, protect occupants/workers) (minimum four exchanges per hour); excluding gym.
• HEPA vac all exposed horizontal surfaces - rooms without carpet.
• Wipe down all exposed horizontal surfaces - rooms without carpet.
• HEPA vac all exposed horizontal surfaces throughout building; excluding gym.
• Wipe down all exposed horizontal surfaces throughout the building; excluding gym.
• Allow air exchange to run at least 48 hours post remediation and until remediation success has been verified.
At MCCS the following remediation protocols were followed:
• Deploy dehumidification units (entire building) to stabilize structure and to control ambient humidity during restoration/remediation services less than 55 percent relative humidity.
• Deploy HEPA air filtration devices, entire building (used to “scrub” air during remediation, prevent further cross contamination, protect occupants/workers) (minimum four exchanges per hour);
• Professionally clean (hot water/steam) (with antimicrobial solution) carpeting and all the upholstery found in. Carpeted areas of the building. Once the carpeting is dry, HEPA vac all carpet/upholstery surfaces.
• Clean (HEPA vac/wipe down)in place, all hard surface content found in carpeted areas.
• All soft goods, porous materials with visible mold growth should be disposed of.
• HEPA vac all wall and horizontal surfaces found in carpeted areas.
• Wipe down all wall and horizontal surfaces found in carpeted areas.
• Allow air exchange to run at least 48 hours post remediation and until remediation success has been verified.
Action Restoration, from Port Arthur, Texas, came in to perform the remediation work as outlined in the protocols. They were already on site by the time of the school board meeting on Monday, July 21. The cost of the remediation work amounted to $257,856, with equipment costs at $121,840. The estimated completion date for the remediation was Sunday, July 27.
At the end of the meeting, a pair of parents spoke about the issue during non-agenda item public comments. It was discovered that those comments were not being broadcast over the live YouTube feed of the meeting. Board Chair Frankie Carroll had requested non-agenda public comments not be aired live. He stated this was a suggestion he had heard during a meeting of other school board chairs. After hearing complaints from the parents over not being heard during the live feed, Carroll vowed to “keep the camera rolling” from now on.