Mold discovery delays start date for West Frankfort schools

Updated: Aug. 5, 2020 at 4:18 AM CDT
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WEST FRANKFORT, Ill. (KFVS) - Frankfort Community Unit School District #168 will be starting the 2020-2021 academic year a little later than expected.

According to Superintendent of Schools Matt Donkin, mold concerns will delay the start for West Frankfort educators and students, which was scheduled to begin for teachers on Aug. 11.

“We have been monitoring every day, we noticed this issue, we contacted a firm and had them come out and confirm,” said Donkin.

The district said moisture and cooling issues over the last five days has led to some mold growth in some classrooms on the third floor of the Frankfort Community High School.

Crews will be conducting tests over the next couple of days to make sure the rooms are safe for everyone to return to school.

“And now we are looking to have it cleaned and mitigated and we have to wait for the results to come back to say its all clear,” said Donkin.

The school district could have the test results by Monday afternoon and hope to have an “all clear” date later in the week.

In the meantime, the following is the new start schedule for Frankfort CUSD #168:

  • Monday, Aug. 17: Teachers’ Institute Day (No Student Attendance)
  • Tuesday, Aug. 18: Remote Learning Planning Day #1 (No Student Attendance)
  • Wednesday, Aug. 19: Remote Learning Planning Day #2 (No Student Attendance)
  • Thursday, Aug. 20: Remote Learning Planning Day #3 (No Student Attendance)
  • Friday, Aug. 21: Remote Learning Planning Day #4 (No Student Attendance)
  • Monday, Aug. 24: First Day of Student Instruction / Attendance

The district hopes to have more details in the coming days on the make-up of the original first day of school and the general schedule.

“We still have to get the same number of school days in a year no matter when we start,” said Donkin.

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