LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) – There are mold problems at Conlee Elementary School, which is why some students and a teacher have to move to another classroom.

Las Cruces Public Schools told ABC-7 on Monday that they requested several air quality samples after a 4-by-6-inch mold patch was discovered on a wall in one of Conlee’s classrooms.

According to Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz, some teachers also reported being sick.

The numerous tests and samples showed that the air in the classroom in question and in the associated toilet contained a mold spore count of between 333 and 2,112 mold spores per cubic meter.

Companies that conduct mold analyses consider anything under 1,500 mold spores per cubic meter in the room air to be harmless.

The district said the increased number of students in hiding has resulted in students and their teachers being removed from the classroom.

After the district evaluates the full mold report, which is expected to be released this Thursday, additional testing may also be conducted around the school.

In the meantime, Ruiz says they are taking every precaution possible, including installing an air filtration system.

“We have listened to our teachers, I have met with the staff there, worked with the principal and the teachers union to make sure that the safety of our students and our teachers is our priority,” Ruiz said Monday.

This is not the first time LCPS has had to deal with mold on one of its campuses.

Columbia Elementary School was closed in 2018 after mold was discovered in its walls, leading to its demolition in 2022.

Students and staff have been relocated to a temporary campus at Centennial High School, where they will remain until the new building opens next fall.

Some say the district has not done enough to inform parents about Conlee’s situation, including a man who lives in the district and whose family works at the school.

He wished to remain anonymous when he spoke to ABC-7 on Monday.

“All of the Columbia students were eventually bused to a safe school where they didn’t have this mold problem,” he said.

“There was no word from the school board, especially Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz, that something like this would happen,” he added.

However, Ruiz said he simply wanted to make sure the district had more concrete information about the situation before potentially causing parents to panic.

He says that the families of the students directly affected by these lessons have been informed of what happened.

“We don’t want to reveal information we don’t have,” Ruiz said.

“As soon as we have the data, as soon as we have the analysis of the entire school and know what we are dealing with, we will definitely let the public know whether everything continues as usual, but we will be transparent about the results and then also consider the next steps,” he added.

He added that based on current information, not all of Conlee needs to be evacuated, but more will be known when the full results of the mold report are available on Thursday.