Another school in our region is working to clean up mold before the start of school.  Tests at the Bedford Area Elementary School showed elevated levels of mold.  District officials released the following statement:

On Thursday August 18th, district officials became aware of mold in several classrooms on the first floor of Bedford Elementary School.  The district immediately contracted with a laboratory to test the air quality and samples of the mold.  The testing began Friday, August 19th and the district received the test results on Tuesday, August 23 at 3:00 P.M.  The test showed some elevated results for aspergillus in several rooms on the first floor of Bedford Elementary School.  Although there are no federal or state regulations, the district takes the health and safety of our students and staff very seriously.  In an effort to deal effectively with the test results, the district immediately contacted and contracted with a professional cleaning company which specialized in mold mitigation to clean the affected and adjacent areas. 

Due to this situation, the Bedford Area School District will delay the opening of schools until Monday, August 29th.  We will continue to have extracurricular activities including sports during this delay.  The district sincerely apologizes for any inconveniences and will communicate promptly any updates.  Once again, the district takes the health and safety of students and staff seriously and appreciates your support.  

Update: August 24th 1:00 P.M.
 
Three ServPro teams are onsite at Bedford Elementary cleaning the affected and adjacent
areas. The professional cleaning service collaborated with Allegheny Mountain Research
Incorporated to develop a process to mitigate the mold. The process consists of air scrubbing
machines with four filters one of which is a HEPA filter, vacuuming all flat and vertical surfaces,
and cleaning all objects and surfaces with an approved mold remediation cleaner. Once the
process is complete, the district will retest air quality with a second laboratory capable of
expediting the testing process. Although the district has received reasonable assurance from
ServPro that Bedford Elementary will be ready for school on August 29th, the district will review
the results of the air quality testing prior to the beginning of school and issue another update.
Once again, the district takes the health and safety of students and staff seriously and
appreciates the outstanding community support as we take action to demonstrate our
commitment.
Sincerely,
 
Dr. Allen Sell, Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Paul Ruhlman, Assistant Superintendent of Schools