Mold Problems at Cherry Hill East Move Summer Programs

Several events are being moved out of Cherry Hill East next week, as workers clean up what schools officials have said is a mold problem isolated to one wing of the high school.

Mold cropped up in the first-floor B-wing classrooms at some point this summer, officials said in a statement posted to the school district website, and the contractors hired to clean up the problem indicated it’s a statewide problem, thanks to an especially wet and hot summer.

“We are confident that the issue arose after the school year ended,” school officials said in the statement.

Mold remediation was scheduled to start Tuesday, officials said, with monitoring in place during the process. Once the work is complete, samples will be taken to ensure the mold’s been eradicated, officials said.

District workers are also taking steps to knock down humidity at East and are working to determine whether there are any issues with the school’s mechanical systems, which combine various newer and older pieces, officials said.

Because of the mold problem, the district is shifting two summer academic programs and two outside programs to other district facilities.

The SAT prep and college essay writing courses will both be held at Beck Middle School instead of East, the written test for the Cherry Hill Police Department will be held at Cherry Hill West and the state civil service exams will take place at Rosa International Middle School.

The summer enrichment program and summer recreation program are both still being held at East, officials said, and fall sports practices and other related activities aren’t affected by the mold problem.

The rest of the school remains open, and meetings with administrators and guidance staff remain as scheduled, and appointments run through the main office are still on, school officials said.