OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – Delta Kelly Elementary School in Oakland Township was closed on Wednesday and will be closed until at least next Tuesday, Sept. 2, after an airborne form of toxic black mold was discovered in the building.
The mold was discovered after a leaky classroom window was fixed on Monday (Aug. 25), which was the first day of school.
The Rochester School District apologized for the delays in an email to parents.
“There was evidence of black mold in classroom 14 at Delta Kelly Elementary School,” Superintendent Nicholas Russo said in a statement to Local 4. “Out of an abundance of caution, Delta Kelly was closed on Wednesday to address the situation.”
Russo said that preliminary tests on Wednesday turned up no signs of the mold.
A mold remediation company was called in to clean and disinfect the entire building, and the district is also replacing all air filters.
The revelation that mold was discovered in the air confirmed the suspicions of some parents, including Kelly Hermans.
Both of Herman’s kids have attended the school, and she struggled to figure out why they were getting sick.
“Really, I just want my kids to be safe,” Hermans said on Wednesday. “I want to get my kids to school in the morning and not have to stress about them having a chronic health condition for the rest of their lives.”
After her 11-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, her son developed a serious illness that was traced to toxic mold, and it all suddenly came into focus.
“We were told he had something called PANDAS or PANS, which is when you get strep throat or pneumonia, and your body literally can’t clear the virus, so it starts to attack your brain,” Hermans said. “We found out you can get that from mold toxicity, and it’s just been one thing after another.”
Local 4 Medical Expert Dr. Frank McGeorge says that black mold can be especially dangerous for kids, whose bodies are still developing.
“Black mold, specifically because of the toxin, can disproportionately or more heavily affect children,” said McGeorge. “Because they have a smaller body surface, they have a higher exposure level per weight, basically, so it can affect their development significantly.”
Hermans, a nurse and owner of Beautiphi Aesthetic Boutique in Rochester Hills, questions whether the issue of black mold in the school will be addressed by next week and wants to see more transparency from the district.
“Micro-toxins are not visible,” she said. “So, they closed the school until Tuesday. What are we going to do between now and Tuesday?”