Parents press board for professional mold testing at Oconee County Elementary; operations staff report moisture checks

Multiple parents addressed the Oconee County Board of Education on May 12 to demand professional mold testing and remediation at Oconee County Elementary School, saying teachers and students have become ill and that staff resignations have followed. District operations staff described site inspections, moisture-meter readings and HVAC humidity monitoring but did not announce a third-party testing contract during the public meeting.

At the start of the operations report, Doctor White told the board that facilities staff had removed “all the old continuous floor” seam repairs over spring break and that the gym floor has an impermeable layer designed to limit moisture intrusion. White said staff used a moisture meter across multiple surfaces and reviewed humidity sensors on HVAC units; he added that classrooms tested at “the correct levels as well.” When asked about acceptable humidity thresholds, White referenced ASHRAE, saying “60% is what ASHRAE uses, and that is the American Society for Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers. And by default, we set all our units at 45.”

During the public-comment period six Oconee County residents spoke about what they described as persistent moisture or mold issues at Oconee County Elementary. Caitlin Farmer said she has continued concerns about the district's compliance with open-records laws and asked the board to "do better" in providing documents. Mandy Moriera, who identified herself as the parent of a child in an outside pod at the elementary school, said “from the last meeting, our plea as concerned parents was to have professional mold testing done. It was not.” She said teachers and other staff had become ill and that some had resigned, including the school nurse; she said parents have circulated a petition with 213 signatures asking for professional testing. Brandy Herndon told the board she first raised concerns in 2018 and urged “independent, reputable, and appropriate testing and remediation” and said parents would be willing to pay for testing.

Other speakers, including Meryl Herr and Greg DeBacker, urged the board to secure third-party testing and to address communication breakdowns between staff and administration. Greg DeBacker said he supported a third-party professional test "whether that's surface testing, air testing," and that results should be shared with the community.

Board members asked operations staff for clarification about the testing methods and communications. White said teachers and principals can submit work orders and that principals will call facilities for high-level concerns; his team conducts semiannual walkthroughs of schools, checks work-order systems and reviews HVAC unit sensor data in the district's control software. White said the district continues to monitor the affected areas and that the facilities directors (unnamed in the public record) have over 50 years of combined experience.

No formal board action commissioning independent third-party mold testing was recorded in the public meeting. After the public-comments period, the board moved on to other agenda items and later adjourned to executive session for personnel matters.