Update - Tokay mold cleanup millions over budget

[Guest guest]

Tokay mold cleanup millions over budget

Cost of project now totals $13.5 million

Stockton Record - Stockton,CA*

By Reid

Record Staff Writer

November 20, 2007 6:00 AM

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20071120/A_NEWS/711200320

LODI - Toxic mold cleanup at Tokay High School has run millions of

dollars over its estimated budget, raising the total cost of the

emergency project to $13.5 million and forcing the district to

borrow close to $4.5 million to pay its portion of the costs.

Originally, district officials hoped eradication of the mold, which

was found in June, would cost between $8 million and about $11.5

million. To begin cleanup immediately, the district authorized the

transfer of $8 million into facilities funds from other district

accounts, essentially giving a loan to itself that has to be paid

back in full.

Lodi Unified Superintendent Bill Huyett said that of the total $13.5

million project, the district will pay $1 million off the top from a

reserve maintenance fund. The state will reimburse 60 percent of the

remaining $12.5 million, which leaves about $4.5 million that the

district will have to borrow in a long-term, low-interest loan.

Tokay high costs

• Modernization project: $13 million paid for by the 2002 bond

measure.

• Mold cleanup and rehabilitation: $13.5 million. District has paid

$1 million and will finance $4.5 million. State will pick up $8

million.

In borrowing the money, Huyett says the district won't have to

drastically cut its budgets in future years to make room for the

additional payments.

" I don't think a loan that size will hurt us, " he said. Lodi

Unified's 2007-08 budget is $392 million.

Additionally, district officials will look for creative ways to pay

back the loan early, he said.

The rising costs stem from additional mold found in the school's

performing arts and industrial arts buildings, said Art Hand, Lodi

Unified's assistant superintendent for facilities and planning.

" We started opening up walls in the industrial and performing arts

buildings, and it became evident that costs were going to go up, "

Hand said. " The original prices were just estimates. We knew it had

the potential to be more than that. "

Hand said the price increase has not delayed the finish date of the

project. All of the mold in the high school's seven classroom wings,

along with the industrial arts and performing arts buildings, has

been cleaned up. All seven classroom wings have already been

reopened, and the performing arts and industrial arts buildings will

be finished by the time the winter break begins, he said.

Mold was found in the walls of Tokay over the summer when

contractors began work on a $13 million modernization project that

includes reroofing, reflooring and other face-lifts at the 32-year-

old campus.

Because of the mold, the fall semester at Tokay was delayed five

weeks, and school calendars were adjusted to make up for the missed

time. Thirty portable classrooms were brought on campus to house

students while seven major classroom wings underwent mold cleanup.

Parlaying the mold eradication with the modernization project may

have saved the district money, Hand said.

" We were going to tear up the floors and walls in a lot of those

classrooms anyway, so it saved us to do it all at once, " he said.

" We're very proud of this team effort. When this is done, you're

going to have a facility that we can all be proud of for the next 30

to 50 years, " Hand added.

Contact reporter Reid at (209) 367-7428 or kreid@....

[Guest guest]

Periodic refurbishing and rebuillding is part of the cost of having

schools. Shifting those costs onto teachers and students in the form

of increased healthcare costs for them is cruel and should be illegal.

[Guest guest]

" Periodic refurbishing and rebuillding is part of the cost of having

schools. Shifting those costs onto teachers and students in the form

of increased healthcare costs for them is cruel and should be illegal. "

AMEN!

Val