Families of 464 students at Westwood Elementary in Friendswood won't have a firm start date for the school year after the district announced Wednesday, Aug. 5, that elevated mold levels will keep the campus closed past its planned opening.
Kinder Camp, an orientation program for incoming kindergartners that was scheduled for the week of Aug. 5 at Westwood, has been postponed indefinitely. The regular first day of school for all Friendswood ISD campuses is Tuesday, Aug. 18, and no other schools are affected.
The district has not said whether Westwood students would be temporarily reassigned to other campuses if remediation isn't finished by then.
What happened
Campus administrators noticed increased moisture and visible surface mold during the summer, according to a district letter to families reported by Click2Houston. The district hired a third-party environmental consultant, and July testing found elevated mold in both air and surface samples. No black mold was identified.
The district's remediation contractor, Texas General Contractors, traced the problem to two causes: HVAC units that ran all summer but couldn't keep up with moisture levels, and HVAC-related moisture that saturated sections of the roof deck and spread into the building.
What the district is doing
Friendswood ISD said it expanded the scope of work to address both the immediate mold and the underlying failures. The plan includes:
- Comprehensive cleaning of the building and the fixed HVAC duct system by an environmental remediation contractor
- Replacement of the affected HVAC units, which the district said was already planned before the mold discovery and is expected to begin within the next few weeks
- A roof replacement over the affected area, approved and being scheduled
Environmental professionals will continue testing the campus, and students and staff will return only after the building is confirmed safe for occupancy, according to KGTX 7 News.
District acknowledges falling short
In its letter to families, the district acknowledged it had fallen short of community expectations for providing safe learning environments and committed to stronger monitoring, maintenance and operational procedures going forward.
Bond context
The mold crisis arrives three months after Friendswood ISD voters rejected Proposition B in May, a $40.6 million bond that would have funded a replacement campus for Westwood. Voters did approve Proposition A, a $26 million measure for districtwide infrastructure and maintenance. Built in 1967, Westwood is the district's oldest elementary campus, according to Hoodline.
How much of the emergency HVAC and roof work will draw from the district's $70.06 million budget for 2026-27, beyond what Proposition A earmarked, has not been disclosed.
What's next
The district promised another update Friday, Aug. 7. Families can find information on the Friendswood ISD Facebook page at facebook.com/FriendswoodISD.
