Mold forces S. Jersey district to close all schools

Waterford Township closed all three of its schools yesterday for mold remediation and will keep them shut at least through Wednesday.

The mold issue came to light after a Camden County Department of Health inspection Sept. 28 of the Waterford Elementary School. The county notified the district last week that it had found "unsatisfactory conditions" at the school.

Other area school districts have been impacted by mold, some of which is attributed to breeding grounds established from record rains.

A roof at Waterford Elementary, on Old White Horse Pike, has been leaking for years, the inspection report found. The county ordered that the district must hire a qualified contractor to remediate the site, and test it.

As a result, officials closed that school, as well as the Atco and Thomas Richards schools. The schools are scheduled to reopen Thursday, depending on the progress of the remediation.