Students and staff of Mountain Valley Middle School in Mexico will begin remote classes Tuesday because the building has been closed due to poor air quality and mold spores. The school serves 366 students in grades 5 to 8. Mountain Valley Middle School website photo

MEXICO — Staff at Mountain Valley Middle School prepped for remote learning Wednesday, a day after the building was closed indefinitely because of unhealthy air quality.

“We are exploring other building options today through Friday, Regional School Unit 10 Superintendent Deb Alden wrote in an email Wednesday, “and hope to keep remote learning to as short of a period of time as we possibly can. Obviously, as we determine locations we will have to make them student-ready.”

The school at 58 Highland Terrace was built in 1967 and serves 366 students in grades 5 to 8.

Students will begin remote learning Tuesday.

In a letter to staff, parents and families announcing the closing and posted Tuesday on the Mexico Fire Department’s Facebook page, Alden said families and students may come to the school Friday to retrieve personal items, including laptops and food. Masks will be available for all who wish to use them.

Alden said the decision to close the building was made after meeting Tuesday afternoon with Mark Coleman, senior industrial hygienist for Sevee & Maher Engineers regarding the latest air quality tests and a follow-up Monday.

“It is apparent that most of the building is no longer a healthy place to work and learn in,” she wrote.

The issue is “forms of mold spores,” Alden said by phone Tuesday evening. “This is the third (test) we’ve had done and each time it was different areas that showed problems. This time it was really bad,” she said.

Since a June 25 indoor air quality study was done at the school finding high levels of mold spore activity in a custodial closet and the boys locker room, among other areas, the district has worked to tear out carpeting and remove asbestos, Alden said at school board meetings in June and August.

“There is a reason we’re building a new school,” Alden said Tuesday evening.

The middle school will be demolished after the Mountain Valley Community School, which is under construction on Highland Avenue, opens in late 2025 or early 2026 for prekindergarten through grade eight students.

Comments posted on the Mexico Fire Department Facebook page included some who said their children came home from school with headaches, coughs, migraines, vomiting and nosebleeds.