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<p>KINGSTON &#8212; Wyoming Valley West Middle School students will share space with students at the district&#8217;s high school after their building was closed Tuesday because of a mold problem.</p><p>School Board President Joseph Mazur announced at a board meeting Tuesday morning that the Chester Street school will be closed indefinitely.</p><p>&#8220;The building may be closed for three months, six months or forever,&#8221; Mazur said, estimating the cost of cleanup at about $100,000.</p><p>Later in the day, board Vice President David Usavage confirmed that middle-school students would share the district&#8217;s high school in Plymouth with high school students. He added that as of Tuesday afternoon, a schedule for the sharing of the high school had not been determined.</p><p>But, he said: &#8220;I would think that high school students would start out the day at the school for the prescribed amount of hours, and the middle-school students would attend in the afternoon.&#8221;</p><p>Mazur said originally the district thought that only two rooms of the middle school were affected by mold, but that an environmental specialist had indicated the problem was extensive.</p><p>The building was closed immediately after the school day Tuesday.</p><p>&#8220;We are closing the school down, and we will be determining the exact nature of the problem when the students are out,&#8221; Mazur said.</p><p>About a dozen parents who gathered for the meeting said they were pleased the school board had chosen to be aggressive in addressing the problem.</p><p>&#8220;This board has only been aware of mold during the last several weeks,&#8221; Mazur said. &#8220;And we&#8217;ve been working on it every day, like it was a full-time job.&#8221;</p><p>Cecilia Helda, of Forty Fort, who has two children at the school, said, &#8220;If there is one thing that we can learn from this whole experience, it&#8217;s that we hope that the administration and parents can work together with transparency and good communication.&#8221;</p><p>Joe and Lori Wasco, both of Plymouth, already had taken their daughter, Olivia, out of school.</p><p>The Wascos said their daughter had been absent for an entire week with symptoms they believe were related to the mold.</p><p>Olivia Wasco, a sixth-grade student, said many fellow students had been expressing concern about the presence of mold in the building.</p><p>&#8220;Someone was at their locker the other day, and they said they hoped the school would at least shut down the basement,&#8221; Olivia said.</p><p>Meanwhile, Usavage, when asked if teachers still will get paid, said: &#8220;Everyone is getting paid.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West superintendent Irvin DeRemer discusses closure of the district&#8217;s middle school with board member at a meeting on Tuesday morning </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_board-16.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Valley West superintendent Irvin DeRemer discusses closure of the district&#8217;s middle school with board member at a meeting on Tuesday morning </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mold problem forces closure of WVW Middle School; students will use high school