Mold found in Conlee Elementary School classroom, LCPS will continue to analyze air quality tests

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Conlee Elementary School is dealing with mold, forcing some students and one teacher to move to a different classroom.

Las Cruces Public schools told ABC-7 Monday that they ordered multiple air quality samples after a 4 inch by 6 inch patch of mold was found on a wall in one of Conlee's classrooms.

According to Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz, a couple of teachers also reported illness.

The multiple tests and samples showed the air in the classroom in question and its closet had mold spore numbers between 333 and 2,112 mold spores per cubic meter.

Mold analyzing companies list anything under 1,500 mold spore counts per cubic meter in a room's air as a safe amount.

The district says the elevated numbers in the closet led to students and their teacher to be moved out of the classroom.

More tests around the school may also be ran after the district analyzes the full mold report, which they’re expecting to be released this Thursday.

Ruiz says in the meantime, they are taking every precaution they can, including installing an air filtration system.

“We’ve listened to our teachers, I have met with the staff over there, working with the principal, with the teachers’ union, just making sure that our priority is the safety of our students, safety of our teachers," said Ruiz Monday.

This isn’t the first time LCPS has dealt with mold on one of their campuses.

Columbia Elementary was closed in 2018 after mold was found within its walls, forcing its demolition in 2022.

Students and staff were moved to a temporary campus at Centennial High School, where they will remain until the opening of the new building next fall.

Some feel the district hasn’t done enough in informing parents about Conlee’s situation, including a man that lives within the district and has family that works at the school.

He wished to remain anonymous when he spoke with ABC-7 Monday.

“All of the students from Columbia ended up being bussed to a safe school, where they didn’t have this mold issue," he said.

"There’s been nothing said from the school board, specifically Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz, on any of that happening," he added.

However, Ruiz says he simply wanted to make sure the district knew more concrete information about the situation before potentially panicking parents.

He says families of students directly impacted by this classroom were notified of what was going on.

“What we don’t want to do is put information out there that we don’t have," said Ruiz.

"Once we have the data, once we have the analysis of the entire school, knowing what we’re dealing with, that’s when we’ll communicate to the community either way, whether its business as usual, but being transparent on what those results were, and then looking at next steps as well," he added.

He adds based on the information they have now, the entirety of Conlee won’t have to be evacuated, but more will be known after the full mold report results become available this Thursday.