FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – Parents and students of two Fort Bend ISD high schools met with school district administrators Wednesday to learn how a plan to house both schools under one roof will work.
Marshall High School and Willowridge High School will operate at Marshall's campus, as mold removal continues at Willowridge.
"This is a major issue that's affecting a lot of people," said Dr. Charles Dupre, superintendent of Fort Bend ISD.
Crews discovered mold in a band room in June. Later in the summer, mold was discovered in locations throughout the school, prompting its closure.
Some parents expressed concern about how long mold had been on campus.
"I am a little curious about how quickly the mold consumed the entire building, not so sure about that part, but I'm not a mold expert," said Pam Gray, a Willowridge parent.
District administrators told KPRC2 they hope to get an answer once cleanup and repairs at Willowridge are completed.
"We're going to go in and test every system in that building to make sure this is not a recurring problem," Dupre said.
The Fort Bend Independent School District said the cost to get rid of the mold at Willowridge High School is up to $7.6 million.
The district said the cost covers the replacement of floor and ceiling tiles and furniture.
The district said it has more than 150 people working around the clock to finish cleaning.
"We have two crews working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This includes 150 people on the day shift and 50 working overnight, and we are aggressively pushing toward turning over the building in mid-September," said Carolina Fuzetti, Fort Bend ISD's executive director of design and construction.
The work is scheduled to be done on Sept. 15.
