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BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
OLD TAPPAN, NEW JERSEY—Several classrooms, the media center and music room were shuttered during the first week back at Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan as school officials undertook steps to remediate high moisture levels and mold growth, said the district superintendent.
Northern Valley Regional High School District Superintendent James Santana said this situation has occurred in previous years at rooms in the Demarest regional high school as well.
He said high-efficiency air conditioning units at the high school can cool down the air in a building without removing moisture.
However, during the summer, this can cause moisture accumulation when classrooms are not in use. Santana said the excess air moisture collects on floors, desks, and other surfaces leading to mold growth.
Santana said the problem only occurs during summers, when there is little air movement inside the classrooms.
“Any time we’ve had this problem it’s never been during the school year but during the summer. There’s not enough air circulation because the classrooms are not being used,” Santana said.
He said the district is taking steps to modify the high-efficiency AC units to mitigate the problem during summers.
Santana said solutions to reduce high-moisture levels include slowing the AC systems down to stay on longer and remove more humidity from the air; adding a reheating component to allow the units to remove more moisture; and installing a dehumidification system in the cooling unit system.
In a Sept. 6 email update to parents, NVOT Principal Bruce Sabatini said classrooms and locations that remain in the “cleaning/remediation phase” include C-102, A-104, A-106 and the Media Center. Santana said initially the music classroom was also affected.
“Professional cleaning company continues to work to remediate—will be followed by environmental testing with another communication to follow after the District Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds receives the results,” said Sabatini’s email.
Santana said “a lot of institutions and schools are struggling with this [moisture and mold] issue now” as companies he spoke with told him.
He said the mold collecting on classroom surfaces due to excessive moisture “is just your regular typical outdoor mold collecting on inside things.”
He said the mold was not dangerous, according to air quality monitoring contracted by the district.
Santana said via phone Sept. 6 that he was waiting for results of air quality sampling to be received by the district’s Buildings and Grounds supervisor.
Santana also said they were “finalizing estimates” to likely add air reheat systems to rooftop AC units. In essence, a reheat system can provide more precise control of room temperature and humidity.
Northern Valley Press was contacted Sept. 6 by a parent concerned about the closed NVOT classrooms and mold situation mentioned in Sabatini’s Sept. 6 email. Northern Valley Press requested copies of emails sent by Sabatini on the issue.
Sabatini directed all questions on the matter to Santana.
Santana said remediation on affected classrooms began the last week of August.
“Classrooms are the highest priority and the contractors are cleaning up the mold on the surfaces of desks and chairs,” he added.
Requests for information from Santana on costs for classroom cleanups, mold remediation, air quality sampling, and planned AC unit modifications were not returned by press time.
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