The discovery of toxic mould growing in the walls of a classroom and another building at Bayfield High School in Dunedin has prompted the school to demolish and rebuild the facilities at a cost of $1.4 million.
Principal Judith Forbes said the archway (which includes a classroom) and front entrance foyer of Bayfield High School were built in the early 1990s and had been leaking badly, causing mould to build up in the walls.
Mrs Forbes said the problem was detected four years ago when a staff member drilled a hole in one of the walls, and water came pouring out.
It was then discovered Penicillin and Stachybotrys (toxic black mould) were growing in the walls.
In severe cases of exposure to Stachybotrys, symptoms can be extreme and include nausea, vomiting, and bleeding in the lungs and nose.
Before demolition of the buildings, the school had been constantly monitoring air quality in the rooms to make sure pupils and staff were not inhaling toxic spores, she said.
''It's a classic 1990s' leaky building problem.
''The buildings were absorbing a lot of water and the wall linings were wet, and so we were monitoring very carefully the air quality within the rooms to make sure that it was safe to occupy.
''They were safe throughout that time, but eventually they would have become unsafe.''
The only way to remedy the problem was to pull the building down, Mrs Forbes said.
''Some of the parts that we are rebuilding are relatively new parts to the school.
''We wouldn't have refurbished at this stage, had this issue not appeared.
''It's a good thing we can do this.''
In its place, a new pupil services area would be built, including a pupil office, a year-13 study suite, counselling rooms would be revamped and the school's front entrance replaced.
She said it had taken about four years for the Ministry of Education and the school's board of trustees to work through the financial processes to gain the funding needed for the rebuild.
Building could begin as early as next week, and was expected to be completed by August. Construction was not expected to interfere with school operations.
The school would work around it, by relocating the main administration and office areas to other parts of the school, she said.
The new buildings were a different design and Mrs Forbes was confident there would be no problems with leaking.
Since the 1990s' leaky building saga and the Christchurch earthquakes rebuild, the building codes for government facilities had become significantly more stringent, Mrs Forbes said.
''They're being incredibly fussy, so I don't think there's any chance the new buildings will leak.''
