BURLINGTON, N.C. (WGHP) — Mold remediation in the Alamance-Burlington School System now means security projects on the books for years will have to be put on hold.
The school system said it will eventually fund those security plans, but right now, mold cleanup is their main concern.
It takes a lot of people to make sure the school is clean, and it takes a lot more money to get it done.
“We’re in crisis mode dealing with this mold remediation,” ABSS Public Information Officer Les Atkins said.
The team is also dealing with how much it will cost to pay cleanup crews.
“We actually have to go back to the county commissioners to ask them and get permission from them to use our lottery funds, to use the money,” Atkins said.
The only way to find that money is to move things around, which is what Alamance County commissioners are doing.
They’re shifting money from other school projects to be used to pay for mold remediation.
Projects like additional security cameras at several schools are now on hold. Plans for safety vestibules at others are also shelved.
“We will get to these projects eventually. We will go back to our county commissioners and explore ways that we can complete these projects because … they are priorities,” Atkins said.
But moving money around may not be enough
As of now, the cost to clean the schools has reached $17 million, but it is expected that the price tag will increase
“We’re still learning ourselves as testing results are coming in, as mold remediation is being done, as they’re finding toxic genic mold in some schools … They’re having to do other things,” Atkins said.
During Tuesday’s county commissioner meeting, the school board and county commissioners looked into shifting federal money that was marked for other projects such as HVAC repairs to mold clean-up.
