Mold at Garfield will be removed

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Mold at Garfield will be removed

Board approves emergency work

By / Independent Staff Writer

Clovis,CA

Published 01/20/06 00:00:00

http://www.clovisindependent.com/news/story/11709940p-12434972c.html

Mold will be removed from Garfield Elementary and leaky walls and

roofs will be fixed after Clovis Unified School District reached a

settlement with C. & Sons, the general contractor that

built both Garfield and Buchanan High School.

The district's Governing Board OK'd emergency remediation work to

remove the mold hazard at its Jan. 18 meeting after the district won

the $3 million settlement at the end of 2005.

The board's action allows the district to hire an architect and

construction company without the traditional bidding process.

Work will begin in spring and be completed before the start of the

2006-07 school year.

" We've been monitoring the situation, " district spokeswoman

Avants said, noting the levels of mold were not found to be a danger

to students or faculty. " And now that the settlement is approved, we

want to move forward. "

The settlement was approved Jan. 5 by a Stanislaus Superior Court

judge and requires that the 12 construction, glass, plumbing,

roofing, architecture, painting and metal companies who worked on

the school pay parts of the $3 million.

The district first filed suit against in the late '90s over

water intrusion at Buchanan High School. The high school was closed

for seven days when mold was found in the walls in 2000. The

district reached an $8.8 million settlement in 2003 with and

the other parties who built Buchanan.

At the same time, the district was involved in a lawsuit over the

mold hazard at Garfield. In 2003, trace amounts of mold were found

in the walls at Garfield, but the school passed an air quality test.

" It was never at the level Buchanan was at, " Avants said. " The issue

was more that the potential was there, and the water intrusion was

there. "

Water was seeping into parts of the roof and around the edges of

windows. None of the main buildings was affected.

" It's really in some of the classrooms, " said Bill McGuire,

associate superintendent of administrative services. " It's not in

the [cafeteria] or administrative buildings. "

McGuire couldn't specify what or how many classrooms need remedial

work.

" We still have to work on that, " he said. " There's a variety of

estimates on what repairs need to be taken. "

The district will hire a forensic architect by February who will

determine what should be replaced.

When work begins, students will be rotated from one classroom to

another as walls and roofs are replaced. Portables currently on

campus will also house students. An air quality firm will constantly

monitor the air.

Ever since mold was discovered in 2003, the district has regularly

checked Garfield for hazards. The maintenance department conducts

visual inspections to make sure mold isn't developing.

" If there's an issue, you're going to see it, " McGuire said.

Parents were notified about the settlement Jan. 19 in a letter sent

home with students.

On the morning of Jan. 19, parents were still unaware of the mold

hazard at Garfield.

" This is my first year here, so if there's been anything I haven't

heard about it, " said Robin son, a parent of kindergarten twins

at Garfield. " But I'm sure it'll get fixed, and we'll make sure it

does now that I know about it. "

In other board news:

Hauser, assistant superintendent of the Reagan area, is

resigning after 26 years with Clovis Unified. On Feb. 1, she will

begin work as chief academic officer of Fresno Unified School

District. The Governing Board presented Hauser with a plaque for her

service to the district, which started at Dry Creek Elementary where

she was a kindergarten teacher.

" I have valued every moment I have spent with this great

district ... " Hauser said. " You've raised me well. Thank you. "

Four Title I schools in Clovis Unified received Academic Achievement

Awards from the California Department of Education. Miramonte,

, Weldon and Sierra Vista elementaries were recognized by the

state for their high test scores.

The district will conduct a site selection study in the city of

Clovis' future Southeast Urban Village area for the construction of

two new elementary schools. Because of development, the district

believes the schools will be needed in the next 10 years. The

Governing Board approved the hiring of Paoli & Odell, Inc. to

conduct the site selection study.

The Citizens' Oversight Committee presented the audit report of the

2001 and 2004 bond measures. The committee — made up of

representatives from local businesses, parents, nonprofit

organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, the historical society and

other groups — ensures the district is correctly using bond funds.

" It's a clean audit report, " said Mark Bayhi, vice chairperson for

the committee.

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