AMHERST — Professional mold remediation in the music and instrument storage rooms during April vacation, along with recent roof repairs and replacement of HVAC air filters, are among steps being taken to improve air quality at the Amherst Regional Middle School.

The district leadership team announced this week the work taking place after the Regional School Committee in March directed Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman to assess the building conditions. The committee asked for the assessment after families and students complained about mold and mildew, and the administration closed off parts of the building where problems had developed.

“We are taking these concerns seriously,” Herman said in a statement. “Thanks to the diligence of our facilities team, outside experts and school leaders, we are implementing both short-term fixes and long-term improvements to ensure our learning environment is clean, safe and healthy for all.”

Herman also sent an email to all families in the four regional towns with students at the school alerting them to the work underway.

Environmental contractor Abide of East Longmeadow is expected to be at the school April 24-25, during school vacation week, with a focus on remediating spaces where mold is present.

The roof repairs and roof examinations have been done, new air filters have been installed and cleaning and disinfecting of the Family Center, tables in the library and the music storage rooms, with HEPA vacuums, has occurred.

The district hired Atlas Technical Consultants of West Springfield to conduct a comprehensive indoor air quality assessment, which was completed March 21. That included air sampling, surface sampling, and visual inspections of various spaces within the school.

But the indoor air samples collected showed mold spore levels that were comparable to outdoor levels, meaning that they likely didn’t originate inside the building.

The examination of the building did find isolated instances of active mold growth on specific surfaces, including wooden shelves, instrument cases and door frames, mostly in the music and Family Center areas. The mold types identified included Aspergillus and Cladosporium.

The report suggests that the main cause is likely condensation and prolonged humidity, rather than systemic HVAC failures. Filters in the building’s vents hadn’t been replaced in a little over two years, though Atlas is recommending more regular replacement and dehumidifcation of the building, particularly during the summer and early fall.

Several areas of water damage were also linked to roof drainage issues, with has caused tiles and other material to fall. In December, a tile came down in a hallway, but no one was injured. In March, though, a student was hit by something that dropped from the ceiling, and had to be checked by the school nurse.

The roof is expected to be replaced after being placed on the accelerated repair program by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, though exactly when this will happen is not known, with a projected timeline of replacement in summer 2027.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.