Del Sur Elementary students head to Stone Ranch campus as mold cleanup continues

More than 900 Del Sur Elementary students will relocate to Stone Ranch Elementary on Monday after mold and unsafe air quality kept the their campus from opening on time for the new school year.

The Poway Unified School District plans to move the students, along with their teachers and staff, to shared space at Stone Ranch for at least a month while decontamination and cleaning continue at Del Sur Elementary.

Mold spores were found in four classrooms, a multipurpose room and the first-floor hallway.

For students already attending Stone Ranch, the temporary move means hundreds of new classmates. Beckett, a 7-year-old second grader at Stone Ranch, said some of those students may already be familiar faces.

“New friends, old friends, some that I know and don’t come to my school. They might come,” he said.

Beckett’s mother, Carmen Bellofatto, said mold is a particular concern for her family.

“We do the best we can to stay away from the icky stuff in food. He stays active, but at the end of the day you can’t stay away from it all. Mold is a big one,” Bellofatto told NBC 7 on Sunday.

Poway Unified Superintendent Ben Churchhill is leading the district’s relocation plans and reassuring parents that everything possible is being done to clean the affected areas and prevent more mold from returning.

The situation is also drawing attention from parents who have previously raised concerns about mold.

Kristen Montan said she began researching mold contamination in 2022 after her young daughter became extremely sick following almost six years attending Del Sur Elementary.

“(She had) brain inflammation, and there was just this rage inside of her. She could not control her emotions,” said Montan.

The Poway mother created a Facebook page where parents can learn about mold and share information. She said her daughter was healed by a holistic doctor and is now happy and healthy in a hybrid homeschool program outside the Poway Unified School District.

She said, “it really makes me sad they (Poway District administration) let this go on for so long knowing these were serious issues and maybe not informing themselves in how badly this could turn.”

Montan also offered a message for other families dealing with health concerns.

“Any parents going through serious health issues can come out of this with the right resources.”

For now, Del Sur students, teachers and staff are preparing to begin the school year at Stone Ranch as clean up continues at their campus a few miles away.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.