Mold Closes Sullivan County School

BLOUNTVILLE — Black mold has prompted Sullivan County school officials to close Indian Springs Elementary School Friday for mold remediation.All of the school except the mold-affected first- and second-grade classroom sections will reopen Monday, the head of the school system said.The first-graders will be shifted to another section of the school, while the second-graders will attend class at Indian Springs Baptist Church fellowship hall/youth center next door to the school.According to a Thursday afternoon news release from Director of Schools Jubal Yennie, children in the affected classrooms were relocated Thursday to give maintenance personnel the opportunity to investigate and remediate the affected areas.Yennie said classroom wing will remain closed until school officials "can confidently assure parents that all mold has been eradicated and the roof has been repaired," according to the release.The maintenance department for the Sullivan County Department of Education recently repaired roof leaks and identified areas of accumulated moisture, Yennie said.Precautionary air-quality testing revealed elevated mold spore levels that required further investigation, and maintenance personnel identified areas for mold spore growth in the ceiling area of one of the classrooms.However, Yennie in a phone interview from the school Thursday afternoon said no students, faculty or staff have reported breathing or other health issues that could be related to the mold.Yennie said Sullivan County maintenance personnel, with the assistance of environmental specialists, will assess the affected two-classroom area further on Friday and prepare and implement a remediation plan to rid the area of mold spore growth.