Mold Found in Greenacres School Classrooms and Basement

(Updated November 23, 2017) Confirming what many have suspected for years, the Scarsdale School District released recent findings of mold testing at Greenacres School in an email to parents from School Superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman and Assistant Superintendent Stuart Mattey on Wednesday November 22nd.  The report says the testing was done on October 11 and October 28, 2017.

Interior mold scores are measured in relation to mold scores on the outside of a building. Mold scores greater than 150 indicate a moderate probability that mold is originating inside the building and mold scores greater than 250 indicate a high probability.

According to the report, fungal growth has occurred in the basement of the school.In most samples from the basement, the mold score was 300, which is the maximum value on this scale, indicating the highest probability that the mold is from an interior source.

The humidity in the basement ranged from 63% to 71% and in the classrooms from 43% to 53%.  In the gym humidity reached 65%.  These readings were taken when the temperature in the rooms were in the 50's.  According to the report, "Humidity levels greater than 30% increase the potential for mold growth, and high humidity, 60% or greater can cause biological contamination."

Samples collected in the psychologists office, classroom 7A and 9 had scores of ranging from 164-204.

In classroom 2B, 22 and 35, the teacher's lounge, the scores range from 191-250 which indicate a moderate probability that the spores originated inside the classrooms. Mold was found on all three levels of the school.

It should be noted that the building does not have a full concrete foundation. Some areas have dirt crawl spaces and it appears that the rooms above these crawl spaces are the areas with the mold. The report done by Regulatory Compliance of Thornwood does not include testing of the dirt crawl spaces or information on how mold could be remediated there. Dehumidifiers were installed in the basement on one side of the school but these do not seem to be effective at eradicating mold in that area.

The letter says, "Because there were some elevated scores for mold, the District will be following all the recommendations in the last few paragraphs of the abstract. This work will be performed over the Thanksgiving weekend. Re-testing of the affected areas will be scheduled for next week. We will also be sharing these results once in hand."

After years of hearing anecdotal reports about mold in the school, Scarsdale10583 sent a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to Assistant Superintendent Mattey on July 21, 2017 requesting environmental reports, work orders for mold remediation and complaints from parents, students and teachers about excess moisture or mold from 1996 to 2015. The FOIL request was acknowleged, but despite multiple reminders to Mattey and School Board President William Natbony to date no information has been received. Their lack of response is against the law.  You can see the FOIL request here.

The Board of Education and Administration are in the process of finalizing plans for a major bond referendum to fund an addition to Greenacres School that leaves the older of the portions intact. If the mold is deemed to be an issue, they may need to rethink the proposal.

See the report on the district website here: