Testing has found that there is a mold problem in a room at Halverson Elementary school.

Responding to a complaint about a musty smell in one of the classrooms earlier this week, Bruce Olson, director of facilities and transportation for the district, had the room tested. The testing, done by the Institute for Environmental Assessment in Rochester, showed that there were high levels of mold in the room.

&uot;One of the staff members at Halverson became a bit stuffy when they went into the room so we decided to test out the room,&uot; said Olson.

&uot;We don’t usually have too many mold problems,&uot; Olson said. In the past few years there have been few complaints about musty smells at the high school and Sibley Elementary School, but testing revealed no problems, Olson said. Each complaint was addressed and tests at those sites came out negative.

Olson believes the musty smell at the Halverson room may have come from a carpet not drying fully. He said that the district will clean up as soon as they are advised. &uot;Once we find out what we’re going to need to do, we will fix it,&uot; he said.

So far, according to Olson, the students and the teacher who use the room have not had any health problems due to the mold. As soon as the district received the results from testing they moved all classes regularly taught in that room to another room.

&uot;We are concerned, but we’re very happy that it hasn’t been a problem for the students and teachers,&uot; said Olson.

The district will get cleaning advice from the IEA today. Olson said that it was decided late Thursday to remove the carpet from the room and replace it with tile.