All pupils moved while building is tested for mould
All 170 pupils at Monarch School in San Diego’s Barrio Logan have been relocated to temporary sites while the school building undergoes comprehensive mould testing, officials said. The K–12 specialist school, which supports children experiencing homelessness, cancelled classes on Friday after concerns arose and pupils began attending alternate campuses the following Monday.
The school is run on premises rented by the San Diego County Office of Education from the Monarch School Project, a nonprofit that delivers wraparound services to vulnerable young people. Local education leaders said they do not yet have details on the precise rooms implicated but confirmed there were ‘‘a couple of areas’’ of concern.
- Number of pupils: 170 K–12 pupils affected.
- Immediate response: Younger pupils moved to Perkins K–8 School nearby; older pupils bused to the South County Regional Education Center in National City.
- Provision: After-school programmes initially held outdoors on Monarch’s campus; further off-site arrangements to be coordinated.
The assistant superintendent with the San Diego County Office of Education, Matthew Tessier, said staff identified areas of concern on Thursday which prompted the move and testing. He said that while he could not specify the exact locations at the time, the response was precautionary to protect pupils and staff.
"I don't know the specific areas in the building. But I know that there were a couple of areas that they had concern about," Matthew Tessier said.
Monarch School Project’s president, Tamara Craver, said the nonprofit was arranging testing of the entire building. She suggested recent weather conditions could be linked to the problem, noting an increase in humidity and an elevated heat index over the fortnight before the discovery.
"I think what was happening with the humidity, and the large heat index that we had in the past two weeks probably led to some of this," Craver said.
Past complaints and community concern
Community members and anonymised tips to local press indicated staff and pupils had previously reported problems inside classrooms. Allegations included persistent dampness, rapid filling of dehumidifiers, soaked paperwork, leaking air-conditioning units and a chronic unpleasant odour in some rooms. The tipster also claimed that air-quality testing in the preceding year detected aspergillus, a genus of mould, in an office.
School officials have confirmed the latest concerns were identified recently; they have not confirmed the historical claims to the same level of detail in public statements. Meanwhile, administrators made arrangements to continue education and wraparound services while testing and any remedial work proceed.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Pupils relocated | 170 K–12 |
| Temporary sites | Perkins K–8 School; South County Regional Education Center (National City) |
| After-school provision | Initially outdoors on site; off-site community locations to be arranged |
For parents and guardians, the sudden change in site and routine will be disruptive. For pupils who already experience instability, the loss of their familiar campus and on-site services is significant. The Monarch School provides not only classroom education but also health, social and welfare support – services which can be particularly difficult to replicate quickly at temporary locations.
Local education leaders said they were coordinating with community partners to secure suitable off-site locations for lessons and support activities for the remainder of the week while testing is carried out and any remediation is planned. The priority has been to maintain continuity of education and safeguard pupil wellbeing during what officials described as a precautionary measure.
Although this incident is in the United States, it serves as a reminder for families and school governors in towns such as Mold about the importance of building upkeep, prompt reporting of damp and mould and transparent air-quality monitoring. Ensuring that maintenance records, testing results and remedial steps are shared openly can help restore trust when concerns arise, especially in schools serving vulnerable children.
The Monarch School case remains under review as testing continues. Education authorities and the nonprofit landlord have committed to sharing findings with families and arranging any necessary follow-up work.
