Palmerton Area High School plans to begin remediation efforts next week after mold was recently discovered in its high school auditorium.

A custodian in the building notified high school administration of the mold, which was primarily located on the cushioned seat fabric, folding chairs, and the piano cover fabric.

“There are some spots on the cushion seats where it looks as if food or a sugary drink of some type was spilled and that is something that mold feeds off,” Dr. Jodi Frankelli, Palmerton superintendent. “We brought in ACM Associates from Allentown after we found the mold and their opinion is that the food and drink residue is one of several contributing factors.”

Other factors include the district turning off the heating, ventilation and air conditioning in the auditorium at night, the lack of use of the room and air circulation particularly in the summer months, and internal/external humidity issues.

“A lot of districts do turn off the air conditioning at night as a cost-saving measure, but we have been running it 24/7 since the discovery,” Frankelli said. “We have had a hot and rainy summer but I think one of the biggest pieces is trying to get control over that internal humidity. That may be something we’ll have to look outside the district for. We will also be checking the HVAC system regularly and keeping those doors open when possible.”

ACM Associates plans to be on site next week for mold remediation at a cost not to exceed $8,500. The cost includes all air quality testing to ensure the room is safe for use after the work is done.

While the auditorium is vacant for a significant portion of June and July, activities will soon be ramping up, making time of the essence in getting it available again.

“We have orientation events coming up and the band will be practicing inside if it rains,” Frankelli said. “We definitely don’t want to waste any time in getting this addressed.”

Palmerton has battled mold in the auditorium before. Shortly before school opened in August 2019, the district spent $9,500 on remediation.

“The cost was a little more than because it was so close to the start of school,” Frankelli said. “Crews had to work on weekends and more people had to be brought in because the work had to be completed quickly.”