Outraged parents gathered outside a South Jersey elementary school on Wednesday claiming their children are not safe because of mold found inside the building.
Last August, mold was found inside the Drum Point Elementary School in Brick Township. The school remained open with remediation work being done on weekends however. Officials claimed testing revealed that the mold was not toxic or unsafe.
Many parents beg to differ however, including Andrea Booker. Booker’s youngest daughter and son both suffer from mold allergies while her oldest daughter has asthma. She says all three of them have been sick.
“I believe it’s the mold [[that’s making them sick]],” Booker said. “Our children, the staff, all of them are in jeopardy.”
Taking no chances, Booker is making all three of her children wear masks to school. Many parents aren’t even sending their children to school and are staging daily protests outside of the building.
“It’s taken way too long,” said Michelle Casqeira. “We have a lot of children who are out from school.”
School board president Sharon Cantillo insists that the school is safe.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
“We have premier experts,” Cantillo said. “They have advised us that there is not a need and that it has never, ever, ever been unsafe to keep this building open.”
In regards to parents who claim their children are getting sick from the school, Cantillo says she “doesn’t understand it.”
More cleanup and testing took place Wednesday afternoon and the remediation work is set for completion on Sunday. There will be no school for the next few two days but that has nothing to do with the mold. It’s because of the annual state teacher convention in Atlantic City.
