Florida schools are continually fighting mold. But some of their own decisions might be making the problem worse:

•Turning off the air conditioning in some classrooms at nights, on weekends and during vacations to save money. The result: High humidity, which promotes mold growth.

•Not drying carpets adequately. Carpet is often left wet in humid classrooms. This creates a humidity problem but also can result in stinky odors and mold growing on floors.

•Not repairing building leaks quickly and correctly. The faster water-intrusion problems are fixed, the lower the chance mold will grow. Sometimes, officials remove the mold but fail to repair the leak, so mold keeps growing in the same places.