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Superintendent outlines asbestos abatement at high school, work to begin May 4
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Summary
The superintendent told parents the district will begin asbestos abatement at the high school with containment and daily air testing, starting preparatory work May 4 and abatement in late May; officials said the goal is to remove about 98% of known asbestos before August while relocating classrooms and changing drop-off traffic.
The superintendent of the district told parents at a public presentation that preparatory work for asbestos abatement at the high school will begin May 4 and that abatement activities are expected to start later in May, with the district aiming to complete most abatement before students return in August.
The superintendent said the work is required before a planned multi-year renovation of the high school and middle school, both built in the early 1960s, and described the phased plan for the high school. "This is the South B Wing of the building…this is the area of the building here that we are going to abate in May," the superintendent said while showing a map and outlining moves for classrooms and offices.
The district will relocate classrooms and offices from the South B Wing before May 1 and use the auxiliary gym as a staging area, the superintendent said. He announced traffic changes parents should expect: the South Entrance and the current student drop-off will be closed on May 4, parent drop-off will move to the athletic ramp (now the bus area), and bus drop-off will move to the front of the building. Parents were asked to keep students in cars until they reach the athletic ramp for safety.
On safety procedures, the district said it will construct airtight hard walls and plastic containment around work zones and will maintain negative-pressure containments, with monitors on-site during work. "We will have air testing done daily," the superintendent said. Terracon consultant Nate Rolle said each containment will require visual clearance and air sampling using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis; he cited an ASTM standard for the clearance process and said results are read on-site the same day so crews can respond if levels exceed the clearance threshold.
Rolle described the containment process: "They construct a containment around the area so that there's only one exit in and out, and then they use negative air machines…that pull air through the containment and filter it and then release it outside," he said, adding that the procedure has been regulated since the 1980s.
The superintendent described the expected scope of removal: "Our students will be coming back to school with 98% asbestos free building," he said, later clarifying that about 2–3% of asbestos will remain in places that cannot be accessed until renovation (for example, insulation around plumbing fittings and some restroom components) and that those portions will be abated during the construction phase when areas are gutted. "There's still gonna be some abatement that needs to be done during construction," he said.
Parents pressed district leaders on the timing of starting work while school is in session. One audience member asked, "Why would we start it while we're still in school?" The superintendent replied the district does not have enough consecutive summer time to complete a project of this scale and that the combination of a May start and summer work best fits the schedule while allowing relocation of students within safe areas of the building. He also said the district could discuss virtual options for families uncomfortable with in-person attendance during abatement.
The consultant said air sampling is generally an eight-hour sample read at the end of the day but that the sampling schedule could be modified if that would make parents more comfortable. "We could modify that if it would make parents more comfortable. We can do four-hour samples, whatever we need," Rolle said, while noting there is no real-time asbestos monitor and that there is some lag time between sampling and reading.
District leaders said they will post the presentation and recording online, will send ParentSquare notices before May 4, and will continue public meetings as the design and construction phases proceed. The superintendent said he would follow up with parents about contractor track records and the number of negative tests the contractor has had historically.
The district also outlined operational impacts through the end of the school year: staff began moving and cleaning classrooms in late April; senior project day and a staff "back 80" cleaning day on May 1 were scheduled to assist packing; and the district said it may run a two-hour early dismissal during the last week of school for underclassmen (May 26–28) if additional cleaning time is needed. The superintendent emphasized that safety is the district's top priority and invited parents to contact the administration with further questions.
Next steps: preparatory containment construction beginning May 4, daily air testing during abatement, follow-up information about the contractor's testing record, and additional public meetings during the construction/renovation planning process. The district said most of the remaining renovation work is planned to begin after the design phase and anticipated construction in the following school year.
