Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mvms Interim Campus topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents and teachers press Mill Valley board to rethink interim campus amid contamination concerns
Summary
Dozens of parents, teachers and community members urged the Mill Valley School Board to reconsider locating temporary classrooms for the middle‑school rebuild on a site they and county letters describe as an old burn dump and potential Superfund location; supporters of the plan said regulatory oversight and CEQA processes will protect students.
A long public‑comment period at the Mill Valley School District board meeting on Sept. 11 centered on the planned interim campus for the Mill Valley Middle School rebuild and whether it should be sited adjacent to a capped burn dump and sewage‑treatment plant.
Parents, teachers and residents told the trustees they fear health risks from soil and air contaminants, methane and other hazards they say have been documented in historical reports and in recent county correspondence. "There has been a lot of discussion about the status of Tara Marin and whether it's able to stay in its current location," said Julia Maheshwari, a parent (public comment). "Our hope is to avoid any disruption to students' learning and the stability of their learning environment." (SEG 126)
Several speakers cited technical findings and county recommendations. Marina O'Sullivan said the site has "multiple elevated levels of heavy metals and chemicals" and noted Marin County Environmental Health Services recommended monitoring for explosive methane and radiation because "radioactive waste has been found at other burn sites" (SEG 452). Susan Dawson cited a 2003 EPA report she said showed lead concentrations "up to 6,500 milligrams per kilogram" and warned of combustible gas and past incidents at other landfill sites (SEG 690–700). Those concerns led many parents to ask the board to locate temporary classrooms farther from excavation and remediate or choose alternate sites.
Teachers and other speakers urged caution but took different views on risk and process. Juliet Mohit, a Mill Valley Middle School teacher and steering‑committee member, thanked the board for the stakeholder process and said she was "confident that through the planning process, including the in‑depth CEQA reports, we will end up having a safe campus" (SEG 200–210). Buddy Johnson, a geologist and parent who said he has worked on Superfund and school sites, told the board he trusts the regulatory tests and monitoring required for school construction in California (SEG 782–800).
Supporters of moving forward warned that delay could be costly. A group representing multiple elementary‑school parents said that postponing the project risks critical Measure G funding, which one speaker estimated at about $7,000,000 per year, and urged the board not to "jeopardize critical Measure G funding" (SEG 753–759).
Board members and staff responded by emphasizing the formal environmental review and regulatory checks that govern school construction. Superintendent Dr. Kaufman described the district's process for testing and oversight and said staff will continue to provide information; trustees asked staff to return with additional data about alternatives and the district's outreach and testing timeline. Trustees also acknowledged the emotional tenor of public comment and the competing priorities of safety, schedule and funding.
The board did not take immediate formal action on the MVMS interim campus during the Sept. 11 meeting; speakers said CEQA findings and subsequent staff reports would inform next steps. The district indicated it will post presentation materials and the meeting video online and follow up on requests for detailed testing and comparative analysis of alternatives.
