- November 7, 2025
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Olivia Virgin, a senior at Lakewood Ranch High School, was sitting in her class in Room 570, Building 5A, when she noticed something unusual on Oct. 29.
She said she was sitting directly under an air vent when "black flakes" fell from the vent onto her and her desk.
Virgin looked up at the vent and said she saw a significant amount of mold on it. She said she was sure it wasn't just dust, but mold.
She said she quickly informed school staff members.
Rennie Finck, who teaches math and AP human geography at Lakewood Ranch High School, addressed the School District of Manatee County board members Oct. 28 about her concerns for the health and well being of those who attend or work at the school. Finck said she knows of at least 14 classrooms that are significantly impacted by mold.
Tracy Gregory, the language arts teacher at Lakewood Ranch High School, said it has been an issue that she and others have reported several times since August 2024.
"It was mold that when you touch it, it kind of poofs," Gregory said. "It's not slimy like you would think, it's this powder, almost.”
On May 27, Gregory swabbed several areas of her classroom, including desks, windows, the vents, cabinets, the bulletin board and more. Out of 12 petri dishes she collected, she said 11 had grown mold by June 3. She said visible mold is still in various classrooms.
"My concern has always been, 'What am I breathing in, and what are the long term health effects going to be?'" Gregory said. "I don't want to be close to retirement and start getting respiratory issues because I've spent the last 20 years breathing in this mold."
Finck has been out on sick leave since Oct. 7 when she said her rheumatologist told her she cannot be in that environment.
“I have this persistent cough and throat clearing that I couldn't figure out, and then it got really bad,” Finck said. “I couldn't breathe deep and I'd have to cough to take a breath, and my ribs were inflamed so bad that I couldn't even sit back in my chair because it was so tender.”
Finck said she has an autoimmune disease, ankylosing spondylitis, a form of spinal arthritis. She said she takes medication for it and has had it under control for years prior to the last few weeks. Finck said she left her rheumatologist appointment in tears, because she loves teaching.
Todd Henson, the director of maintenance, operations and central distribution for the School District of Manatee County, said mold is ever present, even when it is not visible.
He said when the school district hears reports of mold, they clean it up, and if it’s on an item that can be thrown away, they throw it away. He said they have used professional remediation services before, but it is not always necessary.
“The problem is that you have over 2,000 students at that school, and all the allergens known to humankind are coming in on their person, on their bodies, on their backpacks,” Henson said. “It's everything from pollen and tobacco and vape, to, of course, mold and other allergens.”
Henson said the air conditioning on campus runs from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. every weekday and shuts off for the evening hours. On the weekends, the air conditioning runs for two hours each day unless there is an event (on Sundays a church is at Lakewood Ranch High from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.) Henson said they plan to double the time the air conditioning is on on the weekends from two hours to four. Air conditioning works to remove moisture from the air, and mold needs moisture to grow.
On Oct. 30, members of the school district (Superintendent Laurie Breslin, School Board Member Richard Tatem, Henson, Deputy Superintendent of Operations Willie Clark, Director of Maintenance Todd Henson and Principal Dustin Dalquist) toured the campus led by parents, to identify areas of concern.
“My comments to the superintendent were that we need to aggressively begin actions to remediate any health concerns that might be found,” Tatem said. “There's no doubt in my mind that the superintendent agrees with me and that she and her staff have already begun to take action."
Jamie Carson, the director of communications at the school district, said the district regularly conducts site visits and responds as needed. Remediation services are available to all Manatee schools.
“The industrial hygienist visited Lakewood Ranch High School as the operations team deemed that necessary,” Carson said.
Henson said that they just replaced all the underground pipes at Moody Elementary School and they are about 60% complete doing the same at Tillman Elementary.
“It’s the same problems but we're not experiencing the same environmental issues there,” Henson said.
On Oct. 31, John Lejeune, a contracted industrial hygienist with Gallagher Bassett, conducted a site visit to do sample testing and gather feedback from teachers. They will measure mold counts and CO2.
“He will write up a scope of work for us based on the findings and we'll enlist the services of a remediation contractor,” Henson said. “They'll come in and perform their work.”
Gregory said that keyboards, camera straps and headphones have had mold on them within different classrooms.
“It makes sense to me that that strap has been around people's necks for a while,” Henson said. “It has the oils and that's a vector for any type of microbial growth over time.”
Jack Lowrance, a senior, also addressed the school board. He told board members he has mold in almost every building.
“While short-term costs might have been saved by disabling the air conditioning on weekends, the long-term effect is that thousands of students have been exposed to toxic air and now you have to pay the cost to fix it,” Lowrance said. “Therefore, let's be proactive going forward. Keep the air conditioning on over weekends so that our schools are no longer sticky, humid, mold-breeding grounds.”
On Oct. 3, sophomore Alexander Schannault sent a text message to his mom, Samantha Schannault, about how he was feeling like he had motion sickness and that he could throw up. It wasn’t until later that Samantha was informed that Alexander was among a group of students who had cleaned guitars that were thought to be covered with mold. Both Alexander and Samantha Schannault believe exposure to mold is the reason he got sick.
Schannault said it isn't just on guitars where he has seen mold at the school. He said he has seen it on various ceilings, walls and chairs.
At 6:34 p.m. Oct. 29, a message was sent out to Lakewood Ranch High families by Dustin Dalquist, the principal at Lakewood Ranch.
“There’s a proud Legacy at the Ranch, and we remain dedicated to maintaining the high standards our families expect,” the statement said. “At the Oct. 28 School Board Meeting, a key item was approved that reflects this commitment. More than $451,800 toward replacing underground chilled and hot water piping systems and connecting them to existing air handlers. The full project is estimated at $6 million.”
Henson said the staff is working to replace the underground lines and that should help with the current issues, but it takes time and money to do so. He estimated five months for the design only and doesn't know how long the replacement itself will take. It will cost approximately $6 million.
The statement listed other improvements the school has already made. Samantha Schannault was concerned that in the statement sent to families, they never mentioned the word mold.
“We most definitely take (the students and staff members) health and their safety seriously,” Clark said. “We want the optimum classroom for our students and staff so that they can be the best they can be. That's what we strive to do each and every day.”
"We're not exaggerating and we're not making anything up," Gregory said. "Every single thing that Rennie and Jack Lowrance said is true. I just want people to know we're not trying to get attention in the way that we want a couple of minutes of fame. We want the attention so that something will actually get done, because nobody deserves to go to school in an environment like this or work in an environment like this."
