Parents demand action over mold found in school

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A San Diego mom is speaking out after she says mold at Del Sur Elementary left her daughter with extensive health issues.

With just one week left until the first day of school, she is looking to hold the district accountable by challenging them to clean up the problem and keep this from happening to anyone else.

“January 2022, she has ADHD and the meds she was on just completely stopped working and she became a completely different person overnight,” Kristen Montan said.

Montan says health issues persisted over the last two-and-a-half years of her daughter attending Del Sur Elementary.

“Like clockwork every year around November, December something else would pop up,” she said. “The headache started. Headaches like five to six times a week, then stomach problems started five to six times a week. She started developing insomnia and then skin issues.”

After seeing countless specialists, Montan was finally referred to a holistic doctor, where her daughter underwent testing.

“Came back with extremely high levels of mold in her body, four different types of mold,” Montan said.

Montan says a Del Sur Elementary teacher did her own mold testing in the classroom and shared the results with her.

“The molds found on that report were consistent with what is in my daughter’s system, as well as five of the most toxic black molds,” she said.

Montan says she knows of one other student officially testing positive for mold and has spoken to dozens of other families or teachers who have concerning symptoms.

“If the immune system could be turned upside down, what would that look like? That’s kind of what mold does,” said Dr. Pejman Katiraei at Wholistic Kids & Families in Santa Monica.

Montan’s specialist, Dr. Katiraei, shared while long-term effects of mold haven’t been well studied in humans, he’s seen behavioral issues, anxiety and learning disabilities exacerbated.

Early symptoms can often be mistaken for something else.

“Environmental molds can trigger allergies, eczema and asthma. A lot of adults that have been exposed say they have brain fog or can’t remember things as well as they used to,” Dr. Katiraei said.

In a written response, a Poway Unified District spokesperson confirmed the presence of mold in six out of 17 spaces that were tested by Air America in July for air quality. They say air filters were replaced and floors were cleaned, but upon re-testing, three rooms had “lingering issues.”

The district’s experts “determined any mold present was likely transitory – an issue of cleanliness and maintenance of the floors, not moisture or build-up.”

“You can clean as much as you want, but you have to lift that carpet up to see what’s underneath,” said Montan.

The district also admits they were made aware of mold issues in two classrooms last August saying those rooms will be “retreated” as they “may still have issues despite repeated measures.”

Staff and families were invited to an open house-style walkthrough Thursday morning to see the rooms for themselves. About a dozen parents showed up for a tour. District representatives answered questions and assured parents they would be updated on the continued and final air quality reports.

School starts Wednesday, and some parents told FOX 5/KUSI they are concerned about the discovery. Several parents said they were confident the district was properly addressing the concerns.

Montan created a change.org petition that’s received more than 300 signatures, demanding more action and transparency from Poway Unified School District in how they handle this mold issue.

Elizabeth Alvarez contributed to this report.

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