Souderton schools - More than 40 parents attended an air quality meeting Monday at the West Broad Street Elementary School, where mold was found in carpets last summer.
 
While the Souderton Area School District cleaned those carpets and subsequent tests show acceptable levels of mold and bacteria, parents' concerns continue.
 
A few parents demanded that the district remove the carpets that remain in 11 of the school's approximate 34 classrooms.
 
An environmental engineer for the federal Environmental Protection Agency said carpets are “sponges” for allergens, including dirt and debris.
 
However, Cristina Schulingkamp of the EPA said the school's problems are “minor.” Last month she inspected the building and will give the district her report this week. Assistant Superintendent R. Bradley Clemens said the report with recommendations would be posted on the district's Web site, probably by Wednesday.
 
A few parents also criticized the district for not sending questionnaires home. They say a questionnaire could identify children with symptoms that indicate mold and bacteria allergies.
 
Administrators said they were aware of two or three parents whose children who have had problems. But parent Sherri Martin said after the meeting she has been contacted by eight to 10 parents.
 
Martin's daughter, Alexis, was moved to the Vernfield Elementary School in November. Her condition — which included uncontrolled asthma nose bleeds and exhaustion — has improved. The second-grader had suffered at West Broad Street since kindergarten.
 
“I hope things get moving for the sake of the children's health,” Martin said.
 
While the district maintains that air quality in the school is good, Clemens said the district recognizes that carpets can cause health problems. The district started replacing its carpets with tile two years ago. The carpets are removed based on their worn condition.
 
But Clemens told parents their removal would be taken up in the 2006-07 budget discussions now under way.
 
Board President Eric MacDougall said the carpet removal is “certainly a priority” but that the board depends on administrative input. He also questioned what impact the removal would have on students currently having problems or on measurements of mold and bacteria in the school.
 
The district made no commitment to conducting the questionnaire. Clemens said he thinks one is likely in the future. The district, with the EPA, will form a committee of parents, teachers and other school personnel to monitor air quality in the school, using the federal agency's Tools for Schools program, he said. That committee could recommend the survey, Clemens said.
 
Ed Montz, who founded Indoor Air Solutions, a Pottstown company that tested for mold in the school in December, said he had advised against the questionnaire. He said parents reporting symptoms would not help determine a problem in the school. “Symptoms are not a diagnosis of disease,” he said.
 
But Alex Martin, Sherri Martin's husband, said a questionnaire could be a “red flag.”
 
While Schulingkamp said the problems she found in the school were minor, she had a list of recommendations for the district.
 
One recommendation is that it regrade the land around the school. The earth slopes down toward the school, which can allow water to soak into the building. The drainage in a dirt mound by the building should be improved too, she said.
Bubbles on the roof indicate potential water penetration and should also be fixed, she said. Rust was found on some of the ceiling grids that hold the tiles, evidence of a humidity problem, she said. Schulingkamp said the district should check the building's humidity levels in the spring.
 
Mold needs moisture to grow. It feeds on paper, cardboard and carpet adhesives.
 
Schulingkamp looked for various air quality concerns, not just things that could cause mold. Some people are allergic to dust, for instance. She advises the school to reduce the number of cushions and fabrics in classrooms, too.
 
Judith Gostin, an industrial hygienist with the state Department of Health, also presented findings from her walk-through of the school in January. Her report is posted on the district Web site.
 

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