TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) -- Englewood Elementary School's lunchroom seating area is being renovated after mold was found.
EES students ate lunch in their classrooms on the first and second day of school. The Tuscaloosa County School System notified parents Wednesday of the temporary solution in response to the mold.
"The moisture issues we are experiencing are contained to the seating area of the lunchroom," said Tuscaloosa County Schools Director of Public Relations Terri Brewer. "That portion of the school has a completely separate HVAC system."
Some parents did not realize the lunchroom situation was happening until after their children came home from school. Patrice Felton's son is a fourth grader at EES.
She received the email, but said she didn't realize Tuscaloosa County Schools sent out the notification because she was busy making sure here children were ready for their first day of school. Felton said it was not until her son came home that she started looking for more information about the lunchroom seating area.
"He came in, and he was starving," Felton said.
Felton asked her son if he had for lunch. He told her, "'Cheez-its, raisins, sunflower seeds and beef sticks,' Patrice said. 'And I said, 'for lunch?'"
Brewer said grab-and-go lunches were just a temporary solution. Such lunches are used in emergent situations, as in the case of mold in EES' lunchroom seating area.
Because mold was found a week before, the school system had limited options and limited time to create a feasible plan for handing out hot lunch. A new eating arrangement, which will allow students to receive their typical hot school lunches, is expected to take place on Monday.
Patrice wished the mold was found earlier in the summer so that it didn't impact the student's first days back in the classroom.
TCSS hires a third-party specialist annually to come in and check for mold. If mold is found, parents are notified immediately, and TCSS adheres to "very strict state and federal guidelines to ensure safety," Brewer said.
Patrice hopes that moving forward, EES can receive more funding opportunities for even more renovations to take place. Specifically, she thinks the school board should allocate money to EES similarly to other schools in the county.
"There's four schools in the area," Patrice said. "We need to give each individual school enough attention. We want our kids to be in a healthy environment because that promotes learning."
For schools to see more upgrade, Patrice believes parents need to advocate for their children.
"Yes, it starts at home," Patrice said. "But when you're sending your children to school, you want to send them to a healthy and clean environment."
Right now, the priority is finishing renovations so students can sit back down in the lunchroom seating area soon and to "make sure this is never an issue again," Brewer said.