After three months of coordinating and continually adjusting to changing circumstances in a fast-track effort to rid an Austin, Texas, elementary school of severe mold contamination, David Cooper looked forward to "turning this into a standard renovation project." In late February, fungal contamination throughout Hill Elementary School had forced Austin Independent School District (AISD) officials to close the school and reassign its 777 students and 77 staff to other Austin schools. They hired the Beck Group, a large general contractor, to lead the effort to remediate and renovate the "sick building." The Beck Group chose Cooper to coordinate the abatement, demolition, engineering, and construction crews that would battle Penicillium and Stachybotrys chartarum, unusual building construction, and "built-in" moisture problems while also learning about mold and specialized building materials. Despite the challenges, Cooper said last month that he believed his crews would finish their work in time for school opening on August 14. Now, however, that deadline is moot.
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