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Parents and staff report mold and building damage at L'Anse Creuse North; district moves to abate asbestos at one elementary site
Summary
Multiple parents and retired teachers raised persistent mold, leaking ceilings and other maintenance problems at L'Anse Creuse buildings; separately, administration asked the board to approve asbestos abatement at Yax cafeteria tied to recent flooring work and reported a likely $51,000 total cost including testing.
Multiple speakers at the public comment portion described longstanding mold, leaking ceilings and other facility deficiencies at L'Anse Creuse schools, saying they cause headaches, rashes and classroom disruptions. Speakers asked the board to investigate and to prioritize repairs.
Marie Howard, a retired teacher and parent, described black mold on vents, buckets in hallways and a “sick room” she said had been used repeatedly; Yvonne Michalski and others said gym-floor repairs, roof leaks and other deferred maintenance have resulted in repeated closures and student/staff illness. Several speakers asked whether past asbestos work and other remediation were handled correctly and urged immediate steps to protect students’ health.
In a separate operations presentation, administration reported that asbestos-containing mastic was found in the cafeteria and adjacent stage/auxiliary space during flooring work at Yax (elementary). The district solicited bids and recommended a competent abatement contractor at a lowest bid of $37,000, with alternates to abate two closets raising the price to $40,000; independent testing and clearance monitoring from the district's consultant (NOVA Environmental) is expected to add roughly $10,000, bringing the likely total to about $51,000.
Administration said abatement and clearance testing would be timed to summer work; the district will not remove flooring during the school year and will ensure proper containment, independent monitoring and clearance reports before reopening spaces. Board members asked about timeline, contractor qualifications and whether the testing firm is independent; administration confirmed NOVA Environmental is the district’s independent testing consultant of record and will perform air monitoring and clearance sampling.
No vote on the abatement contract was recorded in the public portion of the meeting; administration said it would bring the testing-costs item back to the board once final numbers arrived. The district said the abatement is necessary to proceed safely with flooring replacement and preparatory staging.
