Mold Gone, Farmersville Elementary to Open Tuesday

The extended summer vacation for the pupils and teachers at Farmersville Elementary School in Bethlehem Township is at an end.

District officials announced Saturday that the school has been given a clean bill of health from a certified industrial hygienist after the beginning of the school year was delayed by a full week because of mold in several classrooms.

The school will operate with a normal schedule on Tuesday. Parents will be informed of changes to the school calendar as a result of the extra week of summer vacation created by the mold problem some time this week, according to a memo on the district’s Website.

Farmersville was one of two schools that had its fall opening delayed by mold. East Hills Middle School also had a mold problem, but it was discovered and dealt with earlier and the opening day of class was only delayed by one day.

Classes in the rest of the Bethlehem Area School District started on Aug. 26.

Staff at Farmersville Elementary School discovered the mold on Aug. 21, more than a week after the mold discovery at East Hills.

The district hired Sargent Enterprises Inc. to work on mold remediation—a process that included using hospital grade disinfectant to wipe down walls, floors and furniture and using a HEPA-filtered vacuum to clean everything else, including schoolbooks.