Mold issues linger at Kerr Elementary; Fox Chapel Area cancels class again

Kerr Elementary School in the Fox Chapel Area School District will remain closed the rest of the week while crews work to resolve a mold issue.

District officials posted at 1 p.m. on Twitter that students will not have class Thursday and Friday, as hoped.

A message from Superintendent Gene Freeman was sent to families as well.

“We want parents and guardians to know that we are doing everything possible to get the school reopened for Monday,” Freeman wrote.

Kerr has been closed since late-day Thursday , when mold was discovered in three rooms.

“We have continued to work very diligently to remediate the mold that was found in the school last week,” said Freeman. “The district (has contacted) environmental professionals specializing in mold for pre- and post-remediation testing, a mold remediation company to remove the mold and environmental contaminants and disinfect the building, and an HVAC contractor to reinsulate the mechanical system which is where we believe the mold originated.

“These companies have very strict standards, which is as it should be, and we will not send the students and staff back to school until they deem that it is completely safe.”

Districtwide, there was no class today for fall break.

Freeman said the district contacted the state Department of Education to determine if the days missed will need to be made up. It was not immediately clear what the state’s position will be.

“Although the PDE may allow us to have a waiver for the days missed, we are looking at ways we can have our students make up the instructional time,” Freeman said. “Once we have definitive answers, we will notify parents/guardians.”

Staff writer Michael DiVittorio contributed to this report.

Tawnya Panizzi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tawnya at 412-782-2121, ext. 2, tpanizzi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tawnyatrib.