EASLEY – A press conference concerning the mold and mildew clean-up of Easley High School was held Tuesday, and School District of Pickens County Superintendent Dr. Henry Hunt said they are still hopeful that the school will be ready for students on Tuesday.

The E. Luke Green Company out of North Carolina is assisting the school district with the clean-up of EHS and R.C. Edwards Middle School.

“We brought in an environmental cleaning company to help us get this cleaned up,” Hunt said. “Plan B is depending on them. They feel it can be finished by Tuesday, Aug. 17 when school starts. Plan B would probably be a few days delay. We do not have any definite plans yet. We will be able to let the parents, students and faculty know by this weekend.”

According to Hunt, 19 classrooms are being cleaned. He said a HVAC technician noticed a problem and explored it further. It was reported to the school district immediately.

“We’ve asked all of the principals and custodians to keep a check on the issues in all other schools,” Hunt said. “We try to be proactive and guard against these kinds of things, but it has happened and now we are dealing with it.”

Tim Newman, the Executive Director of Operation and Technology Services said they have not determined and price for the project as of yet because each project is a custom project.

Hunt said there is no line item in the budget for this kind of thing, but they will take the money from the maintenance and operations budget.

“This is not cheap, but we need to have a safe environment for the students,” Hunt said. “We want to make sure the school is environmentally safe with no health problems for the students. Parents should have nothing to worry about.”

EHS Principal Dr. Danny Merck said they are making preparations for the teachers who were scheduled to go back to school on Aug. 11.

“We are trying to be flexible for the teachers,” Merck said. “We will open up the wing for the teachers as soon as it is safe to come back.”

R.C. Edwards also noticed a possible problem with mold and mildew in the gymnasium area. Dr. Hunt said the gym has its own unit, so the rest of the school will not be affected by its temporary closing. E. Luke Green Company will begin work at R.C. Edwards Middle on Monday after they finish their work at EHS.