HOWARD COUNTY, Md. – The five cafeteria tables listed on the public auction site, Public Surplus, were being sold “As Is” and came with a warning to thoroughly clean them before use. A description of the tables reads, in part, “**Several of these tables have mold on them** These should be thoroughly cleaned before usage.”

The Howard County Public School System is listed as the seller. The tables are described as being in “poor” condition, and one of the tables was noted as being broken. 

The company running the public auction site tells the In Focus team that the seller writes the description of the products being sold. 

The auction was originally scheduled to end on Oct. 22, but when the In Focus team checked again, it said it ended early, closing on Monday morning. 

We reached out to the Howard County Public School System for comment on the mold warning and to check why the auction ended early, but they have not responded.