AUBURN – Kids who attend the Middle School on Court Street will have a couple extra days of vacation this year thanks to a particularly tenacious case of mold at the school.

Instead of heading back to classes on Thursday like other students, Middle School youngsters will wait until next Tuesday.

The Middle School was one of four in Auburn found earlier this month to be plagued by mold. Edward Little High School had mold in classroom and hallway carpets in its new wing. Mold crept into carpets in the primary wing at Fairview Elementary School. Basement classrooms at Lake Street elementary were plagued by mold in the rugs.

At the Auburn Middle School, the problem was most extensive, school officials said. There, mold was found in seventh-grade classrooms, hallways and auxiliary gym carpets. More was found on bathroom walls.

“It was extensive enough that we had to empty the classrooms,” said school Superintendent Barbara Eretzian.

In addition to disinfecting problem carpets and walls, cleaning crews at the Middle School need to tear down ceiling tiles and clean behind them. Air quality needs to be tested. The work will continue for the rest of this week and over the weekend.

“We just need that extra time to get the work done,” Eretzian said. “We want to make sure it’s safe for the kids and the staff.”

Mold issues at the other Auburn schools have been mostly remedied. There are still problem areas at the Lake Street Elementary School, but not enough to delay the start of classes. Instead, school officials have a contingency plan where some students will be moved to the nearby land lab if further work is needed.

When all is said and done, the cost of getting rid of mold in the Auburn schools could approach $80,000, school officials said.

But Auburn is not alone with mold woes. Four schools from other areas of the region were also affected this year, according to the state Division of Safety and Environmental Services.

In Union 44, workers have been removing carpets from several Wales Central School’s classrooms after discovering mold there. In SAD 52, workers have re-cleaned carpets at Leeds Central School after discovering a couple of spots of mildew.

In Lewiston, workers routinely use a sanitizer to prevent carpet mold. But some minor spots of mold were found at Pettingill Elementary School, where a professional carpet cleaner didn’t use the solution, and at Montello Elementary School, where custodians ran out of it.

Carpets at both schools were cleaned and sanitized.

Experts say a particularly muggy summer in Maine contributed to the problem. Workers shampooed carpets in the schools but warm, wet weather did not allow the carpets to dry. Mildew began to grow in the humidity and mold took over.

Eretzian said letters will be sent to parents of students affected by the delays or changes in the school schedule.

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