As Maryland students filed back into classrooms for the 2025–26 school year, many parents weren’t worried about test scores or curriculum battles. They were worried about whether their children were breathing mold.
From Montgomery County to St. Mary’s, schools across the state opened their doors under clouds of remediation dust and the lingering smell of bleach. At New Hampshire Estates Elementary, Goshen Elementary, Loiederman Middle, and Blair G. Ewing Center in Montgomery County, classrooms sat empty while crews scrubbed walls, vents, and wrestling mats. In St. Mary’s County, Hollywood and Evergreen Elementary faced the same story: mold growth in ceilings, walls, and HVAC systems caused by high humidity and neglected infrastructure.
Why Is This Happening?
The causes aren’t mysterious. HVAC systems were switched off in summer to “save money,” leaving buildings hot, damp, and ripe for mold growth. Many systems are outdated or outright failing. In some cases, humidity levels topped 60% indoors—ideal breeding ground for spores.
In short: the infrastructure is crumbling. And it’s not just Montgomery or St. Mary’s. Prince George’s has fought similar battles for years. Baltimore schools are already infamous for leaking roofs, failing heating, and rodent infestations. Mold is just the latest symptom of neglect.
Wes Moore’s Priorities: Image Over Infrastructure
Governor Wes Moore came into office promising to “leave no Marylander behind.” Yet, while he has been busy chasing national headlines, pushing flashy progressive initiatives, and floating the idea of gerrymandering Maryland into a one-party congressional state, the basics—like safe classrooms—are failing.
Maryland families don’t need more speeches about “equity.” They need schools where their children aren’t exposed to asthma-triggering mold spores. They don’t need virtue-signaling press conferences; they need competent governance.
If Moore can find millions for new bureaucracy, subsidies for pet projects, and photo-ops with D.C. elites, why can’t his administration ensure schools are properly ventilated in the summer?
The Impact on Students and Parents
Parents are rightly outraged. Kids are being shuffled into portable classrooms, activities are disrupted, and trust in the system erodes further. For working families, who already face some of the highest tax burdens in the nation, this is salt in the wound. They’re paying premium prices for substandard results—academically and environmentally.
The Broader Picture: A Statewide Breakdown
Maryland’s education establishment, hand-in-glove with Democratic leadership, has poured billions into “bold reforms” and “transformational blueprints.” But what good are these reforms if the physical environment is unsafe? Mold isn’t partisan—it’s biology. And Maryland’s one-party rule seems incapable of managing it.
The truth is simple: Maryland Democrats have controlled Annapolis for decades. If schools are still riddled with mold, HVAC systems are still failing, and parents are still worried about their kids’ lungs in 2025, the blame can’t be shifted to anyone else.
A Call for Real Leadership
This problem isn’t unsolvable. It requires priorities:
- Keep HVAC systems running during summer months to control humidity, even if it costs more in electricity.
- Audit and replace outdated systems rather than pouring money into short-term remediation.
- Communicate transparently with parents rather than waiting for mold outbreaks to make headlines.
- Redirect spending from political vanity projects toward core infrastructure.
If Wes Moore truly wants to “leave no child behind,” he should start by making sure Maryland’s children aren’t breathing mold.
Until then, parents have every right to ask: is the Governor more concerned with his national image than with the health of Maryland’s kids?
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