BOARD NOTES
Special Called Meeting
October 2, 2003

Franklin County school board heard an update on the mold problem at Bunn High School Monday night and defined a schedule for replacing superintendent Dr. Carl Harris, who is leaving at the end of the year.

State environmental experts have indicated that while mold is present in the science building at BHS, there is no immediate health threat. Several steps should be taken in cleaning the building, the state report said, including replacing the carpet in two classrooms. Additionally, mold on the pipe insulation should be removed only when the building is not occupied, according to epidemiologists David Lipton and Marilyn Parker with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Franklin County Interim Health Director Sandra Wood told the school board that while mold can cause allergic reactions in some sensitive people, teachers and other staff should refrain from using bleach, air sprays, and other irritants which can trigger as serious a reaction as the mold itself.

Removal of the mold has already begun, according to assistant superintendent Tommy Piper. A cleaning crew will be cleaning the mold from the classrooms in the evenings this week and should finish by next week. The mold on the pipe insulation will be removed by a contracted company over a weekend when the building is not occupied. Piper said the building should be mold free within three weeks.

Board chairman Bernard Hall led a discussion on the superintendent search. In hopes of having a new chief on board by the time Harris leaves December 31, they set November 10 as a closing date for applications and November 17-20 for candidate interviews. The schedule calls for follow-up interviews the first week in December and final selection to be made by December 8.

The board was hesitant to put strict limitations on prerequisites for the position, requiring only a North Carolina Superintendent’s License. Qualifications the board prefers, but will not require, include successful experience as a school principal, successful experience as a superintendent or assistant superintendent, and an earned doctorate degree.

The board will meet again on October 13 at 7:30 for its regular monthly meeting, however the location of that meeting has been changed to Royal Elementary School. Royal Elementary is location on Flat Rock Church Road, just off Highway 401, south of Louisburg.