Replacement of Carrollton Elementary’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system is on track to start May 19, Deputy Superintendent Christopher Coleman told the School Board on May 8.

Coleman said the work will begin in the back of the school so that it doesn’t interfere with instruction for the rest of the school year.

The School Board learned in January that the project would cost less than expected. It awarded the work to Chesapeake-based JRC Mechanical, the lowest of three bidders at $5.9 million, or $1.6 million less than was expected last fall.

Coleman clarified that the $5.9 million is just the cost of construction and doesn’t include related expenses, such as renting temporary storage space for furniture and moving supplies out of rooms undergoing HVAC work.

“There’s a lot of intangibles that go into that,” Coleman said.

Coleman said Carrollton Elementary would adjust summer school and building usage schedules as needed.

Division officials blame the circa-1993 school’s failing HVAC system for recurring problems that include the recent detection of black mold in classrooms. Coleman said last fall that visible mold found in a classroom closet in the spring was traced to a leaking water pipe, prompting the relocation of students and staff from that room while repairs were made. Later in 2024, schoolwide testing for mold returned results showing elevated levels of penicillium and aspergillum spores as well as stachybotrys, or black mold, prompting another round of cleaning and the use of high-efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filters.

Isle of Wight County supervisors voted in September to authorize financing of more than $7 million.

The division retained RRMM Architects at a separate cost of just under $466,000 to produce 

Isle of Wight County’s 2024-25 budget includes $9.5 million in local funding for one-time expenses tied to its school system, the majority of which was earmarked for the HVAC project.