In early January, a maintenance request popped up for Montgomery County’s Goshen Elementary School.

Black mold in ceiling, the work order read.

“FYI the teacher is pregnant and kids are complaining of headaches since yesterday,” it continued.

Goshen submitted 15 other mold-related work orders between August 2024 and this September, according to documents obtained by The Banner through a public information request.

The data shows mold is a pervasive problem in scores of MCPS’ more than 230 buildings. In all, the district received 670 work orders related to suspected mold during that period.

They tell of mold on furniture. On football equipment. On windowsills and books and cabinets.

“We have so many of these buildings that just have serious problems with their HVAC systems, their moisture controls, all that stuff that leads to mold,” said Montgomery County Education Association President David Stein.

To deal with it, district officials are playing whack-a-mole with complaints while also attempting to tackle the systemic problems that allow spores to grow and spread. Superintendent Thomas Taylor has been upfront about the district’s massive facilities needs, including the mold problem, and is asking for $2.7 billion to deal with infrastructure issues across the county.

Taylor highlighted in October that the school district has more than $740 million worth of overdue HVAC projects.

“When your HVAC system is not working properly, and it is humid outside … What do you typically end up getting as a result?” he said. “Mold, of course.”

Taylor is balancing competing needs as he prioritizes maintenance projects over the next several years. He has warned that the district’s warehouse is in terrible shape, while several elementary schools require a full rebuild.

“We have windows that we have to fix, plumbing systems that we have to fix, electrical systems that we have to fix,” he said.

He recently pitched the idea of public-private partnerships to help the district accelerate its infrastructure projects.

Mold all over

Mold, a fungus that thrives in moist environments, has the potential to make teachers and students sick. It can irritate eyes, noses, throats and lungs, and trigger asthma attacks in those who are allergic.

District spokeswoman Liliana López said officials know they must respond promptly to mold complaints. The average resolution time for the work orders reviewed by The Banner was 13 days, she said.

Asked specifically about the black mold complaint at Goshen Elementary, López said staff moved quickly to replace the damaged ceiling tiles, disinfect the drywall and seal the area with mold-inhibiting paint.

The mold problem that has received the most attention in recent months was found at the Carver Educational Services Center. Staff members who work there say building conditions have led to coughs and headaches.

District leaders pledged an intensive mold remediation effort at Carver, a historic county building that’s now used as office space for school support staff. The “deep cleaning” was scheduled to run through mid-November.

“I don’t want to see anyone continue to get sick as a result of working in the building,” said Pia Morrison, SEIU Local 500 president.

Carver was the location of 17 work orders during the period reviewed by The Banner, among the highest number in the district.

Other common locations for complaints include Springbrook and Quince Orchard high schools.

“Please cut out mold areas of drywall ceiling. Also, help determine cause of the leak in the ceiling. I will not be going back into this room,” reads a Springbrook High work order from July 2025.

Many of the Quince Orchard complaints were traced to its portable classrooms. In August 2024, a work order described mold in several different portables.

“It has come to my attention that mold is growing in Portables 1, 3, 10, and 12 raising serious concerns about the health and safety of both students and the teacher,” the request read. “The teacher has expressed that he cannot conduct classes in this environment until the mold situation is verified and resolved by MCPS.”

Quince Orchard was also the site of a recent water main break. Video showed dirty water flooding the Gaithersburg campus, forcing students and staff to evacuate.

López said these issues demonstrate why the district must address deferred maintenance. In the meantime, she said officials are responsive to problems.

“The high volume of mold-related work orders at these schools highlights the ongoing challenge of outdated equipment and the critical need for sustained funding for maintenance and upgrades,” she said.

‘Difficult and expensive’

The backlog is steep.

HVAC systems have a normal useful life of 20 years, which means Montgomery County schools should be replacing about 12 systems annually.

But in fiscal year 2026, the district only had enough funding to complete four HVAC replacements.

That’s why the superintendent is asking for a major increase in capital improvement funding, hoping for $2.7 billion to pay for projects over six years. Taylor cautioned that even that massive figure is only half of what the district needs to tackle its facilities issues.

The plan could face hurdles: The school board must sign off on it. Then it heads to county government, where officials would have to decide whether Montgomery County can afford it.

“We have to do something about it,” Stein said, “even though it’s a difficult and expensive problem.”