ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Some parents of students in the Alamance-Burlington School system had the chance to see inside their child’s classroom for the first time after the district delayed the first day of school until Monday because of a mold problem in more than two dozen buildings.
It’s a moment Alexander Wilson Elementary student David Tibodeaux longed for.
“It feels good,” Tibodeaux said.
Meanwhile, fourth grader Brayleigh Coble wasn’t as excited.
“Because when you’re out of school, you have fun,” Coble said.
The delay wasn’t fun for Alamance County parents who had to find child care.
Katherine McDonald says she was more fortunate than some parents who had to rely on caretakers.
“We’ve been really lucky that their preschool stayed open and have been able to watch the kids,” McDonald said. “And we’ve relied on family members’ help, too. It’s been a challenge.”
On Monday night, McDonald brought her daughter to open house so they could both check out what the schools looked like after the weeks-long clean-up.
“It’s important as a kindergartner, she can see her classroom and know where to go. But also, as a parent, just to be here physically and see the work that has been done and know that things have actually been improved,” McDonald said.
Though the sense of normalcy is settling in, Alamance County parent Marie James says all she wants from the school system is consistency and transparency.
“Just kind of looking into those things where they could’ve started those remediations immediately at the end of last school year so we wouldn’t have had all these hold-ups and keeping the kids out of school so much longer,” James said.
The remediation process isn’t necessarily done yet. Alamance-Burlington School System Spokesperson Les Atkins says they will have to replace a lot of furniture that was thrown out due to mold.
After Monday’s 3-hour delay, schools will be operating on a normal schedule tomorrow.
