The Elizabethtown Area School District board voted to commission quarterly air-quality testing by Cumberland Analytical Laboratories after the company’s August sampling showed interior mold counts substantially lower than outdoor readings.

The board action on Sept. 23 authorizes quarterly district-wide visits by Cumberland to collect real-time indoor air measurements such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, temperature, humidity, methane and hydrogen sulfide, with laboratory mold analysis added when the technician’s instruments indicate a need. The district will post monthly testing results to a new section of the district website, the board was told.

Cumberland owner Rich Rausch presented the August 13 results to the board, saying outdoor mold counts that day measured about 15,613 colony-forming units per cubic meter while interior samples in the high school, middle school and elementary schools were far lower — examples he read included interior counts of 159, 80 and 13 CFU/m3 in some high-school rooms and a high of 466 at a middle-school location. "There were no unusual occurrences in this particular set of samples, and I had no recommendations at that time," Rausch said during his presentation.

Why it matters: board members and staff said residents and some staff have reported odors and headaches that prompted renewed testing; the quarterly program is intended to provide ongoing, randomized monitoring without imposing constant monthly costs when the short-term evidence did not indicate an active mold problem.

Board discussion centered on frequency, scope and cost. Rausch said Cumberland’s flat fee is $600 per district visit when the team can cover all buildings in a single day; separate laboratory mold analyses are billed at about $80 per sample because those are processed outside his mobile lab. Board member Jim Emery moved to approve Cumberland for quarterly testing; the motion passed in a roll-call vote of those present, 8-0.

Several board members recommended rotating which sections of large buildings are sampled each quarter so that the service does not repeatedly test the same rooms and to avoid perception of cherry-picking. Facilities chair Mr. Olivera said the facilities committee had asked for an "optimum" sampling plan that administrators and the board could later scale back; several directors suggested quarterly blanket testing with mold sampling done only when Rausch’s field instruments or humidity readings indicate it.

The district also said select buildings-and-grounds staff will carry commercial-grade hydrogen sulfide and methane meters when responding to sewage-related maintenance calls. Facilities staff confirmed they began using the monitors about a week and a half before the meeting and reported no alarms to date. Board members asked administration to provide the district’s expense for those portable monitors at a future meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Nell said she asked district communications staffer Mr. Porter to create a dedicated webpage where the public can review the testing schedule and results; Porter will post the first set of results and provide the link to families.

What remains: the board approved quarterly testing with Cumberland and left decisions about routine annual mold sampling to the technician’s judgment; the board did not approve monthly sampling. Rausch and district facilities staff will coordinate a sampling calendar and a rotation plan for large buildings, and administration will post the first public results when available.

Ending: The district emphasized that the August tests found no mold species of concern and that maintaining building humidity below 50% is key to preventing mold growth short of a water event or leak.