Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
An elementary school in New Jersey is temporarily shutting down due to mold
By
Verónica Del Valle
Published Sep 1, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
The Washington Post / Getty
By
Verónica Del Valle
Published Sep 1, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It’s not exactly back to school for some elementary school students in Freehold Township, New Jersey: They won’t return to their usual classrooms after the district discovered mold throughout a school building.
The superintendent of the district, Neal Dickstein, announced in an email to parents last week that students at Laura Donovan Elementary School will spend at least part of the school year at other schools because of the mold.
The district will scatter its students from Laura Donovan Elementary School in other elementary schools throughout the Freehold Township School District, though they will remain taught by Donovan school teachers.
Students will have the option to take buses to their temporary schools.
“While we know this is disappointing for our Donovan families, the goals remain to keep students safe and to minimize disruption to the schedules of our families,” Dickstein said in a statement to WNYC.
Dickstein told parents in letter emailed Aug. 28th that a remediation company has been working “seven days per week” to fix the problem, which was first discovered in July. However, they were unable to solve it in time for the start of the school year, which is Sept. 5.
He said that the district expects the disruptions to the school year at the Laura Donovan building “may last several months.”
In a separate, Aug. 30 letter, Dickstein told parents that mold had returned after initial remediation efforts. Further testing from indoor air quality consultants also contracted by the district showed high humidity levels inside the school, which Dickstein said is “considered to be an environment conducive to mold growth.”
Laura Donovan Elementary School first opened in 1968. About 450 students attend the school, according to its website.
Tagged
education
new jersey
Verónica Del Valle
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .