Panther Valley Junior-Senior High School has temporarily closed two classrooms after an air quality test turned up elevated mold levels inside.

The school district last week received the results of an air quality test which took place on Dec. 3 and targeted seven rooms.

Parents were notified via a letter dated Dec. 11 of the test results, and that two rooms, 115 and 136, would be shut down temporarily.

“The two suspect classrooms are currently shut down and will be off limits until we can have the remediation professionally addressed,” said a letter signed by JSHS Principal Joseph A. Gunnels.

Remediation work did take place as scheduled late last week, and the administration planned to retest the two rooms this week as well as a dozen other rooms in the building.

“Nobody said we couldn’t occupy those rooms, but we didn’t feel comfortable unless we addressed the situation,” said Superintendent Dennis Kergick.

The district’s maintenance supervisor, Smokey Krajnak, brought in a consultant to test the high school, which was built in 1972, after several other schools in the area reported problems with air quality due to mold earlier this year.

The consultant tested seven rooms — 110, 114b, 115, 121, 125, 130 and 136 — which were identified following a walk-through of the building, as well as the entrance way to the building.

Four rooms — 115, 121, 125, 136 — as well as the hallway areas had stained ceiling tiles.

Rooms 115 and 136, the two that would show higher levels of mold spores — also had what appeared to be fungal growth on plaster walls below windows.

Test results showed that all rooms tested other than 115 and 136 had total spore counts that were less than the outside air levels at the time.

Two other classrooms — 110 125 — had a “variance in fungal spore diversity” — meaning levels of some types of mold spores were higher than outside, but the overall levels were lower.

Following the initial test, administrators closed rooms 115 and 136, and the consultant conducted remediation activities.

The consultant made three recommendations. The first was to conduct further air quality tests throughout the high school. The district responded by authorizing testing in a dozen other rooms around the building. Kergick said that testing would be wrapped up by the middle of the week.

The consultant also recommended, as a best practice, that the district train staff to report and replace water stained ceiling tiles, and conduct preventive maintenance. The final recommendation was to notify affected staff and students.