By CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT / Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – Montevallo Elementary parents approached the Shelby County Board of Education last week with concerns about mold and snakes in the school.

According to BOE spokesperson Cindy Warner, the school system hired ServPro and ERG Environmental to do evaluations of the school’s air quality.

“There was evidence of mold in one classroom, but we decided to clean one wing of the school just to be on the safe side and correct any possible concerns there might be to satisfy the concerns of the parents and be positively sure it’s a safe environment for the children to be in,” Warner said.

Montevallo Elementary Principal Dr. Annie McClain said students were removed from the school’s fifth grade wing prior to the evaluations.

“The evidence of mold was minimal, but there was some in there. It has been cleaned up by ServPro,” Warner said.

Warner said the BOE brought in a pest control expert to “correct whatever problem may be going on” in terms of snakes or other pests.

“In my seven years here, I’ve only seen four snakes. They were really bitty snakes,” McClain said. “Of course, where my school is, there’s a creek back there. There’s no infestation of snakes.”

Warner said the school system also sent the district’s custodial staff to fix “everything that needs to be fixed” at Montevallo Elementary.

“There’s just some general maintenance and wear and tear in regards to the building. It’s an old building,” Warner said. “There are some additional needs that need to be met out there.”

Warner said the staff is there to provide additional manpower and support for the school’s maintenance and custodial staff in order to clean HVAC vents/returns, rafters in the gym and other custodian needs.