A massive infestation of mold found at Viroqua Middle School will cost the school district hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove and could cause delays in its $9.89 million remodeling project.
 
District Administrator David Johnston said crews discovered a "pervasive and extensive mold intrusion" under the middle school roof last week. With the help of an expert on mold abatement the district has determined the problem will have to be addressed immediately, Johnston said. The area affected includes the entire middle school, the middle school gym and the library, Johnston said.

"We are talking about 63,000 square feet," Johnston said. "We are not talking about just spraying on a little bleach or using some anti-bacterial paint, they will need to take off the entire roof right down to the steel girders."

Johnston said the "entire upper level of the middle school" will have to be shut down. The district will be forced to find space for children who will occupy about 20 classrooms after school begins Sept. 1, Johnston said.

Johnston said representatives from Memco Inc. inspected the roof and are determining action needed and the cost involved. Memco is the same company that did mold removal at Coon Valley Elementary School and the Southern Bluffs Elementary School in La Crosse, Johnston said.

Johnston said engineers believe the mold is the result of excessive moisture in the ceiling. School maintenance staff had fought with moisture issues that caused ceiling tiles to buckle and paint to peel for a number of years, Johnston said.

"The good news is that we were going to be replacing the membrane and the insulation on this part of the roof anyway," Johnston said. "We will just have to go down an additional three inches to do this work."

A total of $521,000 had been budgeted to repair the roof in the referendum.
 
A big question will be what the district will do with up to 20 classrooms of students, who may not have a classroom due to the mold removal project.

A later discussion of the potential sale of the empty Liberty Pole Elementary building prompted Johnston to say the building could be looked at as a potential spot for temporary classrooms.

"I would rather keep everything onsite," Johnston said. "Our staff is looking at all the options and we will come up with a plan. We have some space in the lower level with the wrestling room and the gymnastics area. We have talked about combining some things and team teaching. We are exploring all the options."

The other challenge the district has is finding a way to pay for the additional cost, Johnston said.

"There is no question we will have to do the work," Johnston said. "The only question is 'How are we going to pay for it?'"

The board will hold a special session on the matter in the near future. The meeting date has not been set.
 

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