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Matthews board schedules asbestos and mold sampling, seeks facility study for consolidation planning
Summary
Superintendent said the district will solicit proposals and schedule targeted asbestos and air‑quality sampling at the middle- and elementary-school campuses as part of a facility‑condition assessment to inform consolidation planning and renovation vs. new‑construction cost estimates.
Facing a planned consolidation study, the Matthews County School Board authorized staff to pursue targeted environmental sampling and begin the facility‑condition procurement steps needed to inform future decisions about renovation or new construction.
Superintendent Dr. Daniel told the board he has scheduled a firm to visit the campus on Jan. 3 to sample suspected asbestos materials and run air‑quality tests in selected classrooms and mechanical spaces. He said the district already engages in periodic (three‑year) visual inspections of identified asbestos areas and that the goal of the new sampling is to confirm whether suspected materials contain asbestos and to check mold and indoor‑air indicators in flagged rooms.
"We can take samples in different areas...and do some air quality analysis in different classrooms," Dr. Daniel said, adding that the expense is reasonable and that return visits could be scheduled to test additional areas as needed. Board members asked about water testing and specific high‑concern locations (original sections of the high school and areas with 8‑inch floor tiles). The superintendent said lead/copper and other mandated water testing is performed annually and that he would pull recent results for the board.
Dr. Daniel said the sampling will give the board a current measure of health and safety for the tested areas but will not necessarily produce a full abatement estimate for an entire school. The data will be used to help scope the formal facility study and to build renovation versus new‑construction cost estimates that the board expects to bring to supervisors in a joint planning timeline aimed at a December 2025 recommendation.
Next steps: the superintendent will complete targeted sampling, compile air and material test results, and present facility‑study proposals (RFPs or informal solicitations) to the board in early 2025 to support the consolidation decision timeline.
