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Crews work on installing 30 new portable classrooms at Tokay High School on Thursday afternoon. The portables will be used to house students until the mold remediation project is finished. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

School district earmarks $8 million for mold cleanup

By Amanda Dyer
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Friday, July 13, 2007 4:13 PM PDT

Comments (23 comment(s))

Lodi Unified is scrounging together $8 million from various funds to pay for the Tokay High mold cleanup, but the district is also hoping the state will cover more than half the bill.

Earlier this week, the district board approved taking $2 million from its General Fund, $1 million from the adult education fund, $2 million from the cafeteria fund and $3 million in developer fees to pay for the cleanup.

Work to clean up the mold began this week and is expected to be done by the end of summer 2008.

State law requires the district to repay the various funds by the end of the fiscal year.

The district is applying for state emergency funds to cover 60 percent of the costs. District officials are still concerned about the project's total cost.

Art Hand, assistant superintendent of facility planning, said that the district might have to sell off some of its bonds to investors to fund the project.

Although the district hasn't officially applied for emergency funds, it is scheduled to submit a pre-application to the state next week which will describe the situation. The state will then assess the problem and see what kind of help is needed.


Construction crews remove insulation from classrooms at Tokay High School on Thursday afternoon. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

Once the district has a final estimate on the cost of the project, they will submit a formal application.

Remediation at Tokay High is still in the beginning stages, according to Hand, but is on schedule.

"I feel exceptionally confident that we will meet all our targets," Hand said.

Construction workers found large amounts of mold in every classroom building at Tokay High in late June. Since then, district officials have been working to rid the campus of the mold, which is said to be toxic, and return students to their classrooms as soon as possible.

Board members voted to delay instruction at Tokay High until Sept. 4, when the least affected classrooms are scheduled to be finished with repairs.

The delay will cost Tokay students and staff their fall and part of their spring breaks. Instruction will also be extended nine days into the summer.

Contact reporter Amanda Dyer at amandad@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Mother wrote on Jul 17, 2007 7:10 AM:

" What about Crohn's Disease?? "

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NoMoreSchoolMold wrote on Jul 16, 2007 9:52 AM:

" The diseases mold can cause include inflammatory diseases. Research that re: the types of disease found in mold exposed people is found at www.schoolmoldhelp.org/research.html. Among these are inflammatory diseases of every organ system of the body. "

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To exposed wrote on Jul 16, 2007 7:29 AM:

" I work for LUSD and I too have a cronic illness and I beleive the school I work at is a sick school as well and it is NOT Tokay. It is an inflamitory problem as well. Could you please name some diseases that mold can cause autoimmune type diseases? Thanks "

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sam wrote on Jul 15, 2007 4:38 PM:

" Taxpayer, I agree. Clarify please. It would be so wrong if the North Stockton bond was used to clean up a Lodi school. "

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taxpayer wrote on Jul 14, 2007 7:23 AM:

" Bond money? Which Bond money? I do hope Lodi New Sentinel will investigate that statement. Sounds like robbing Peter to pay Paul is big time in LUSD. "

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Caspian wrote on Jul 14, 2007 5:31 AM:

" And to think the CC is considering redevelopment, which will take monies away that could be used to clean this mess up and provide for our children's education in a healthy/safe environment. "

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Dr Mush Room wrote on Jul 13, 2007 5:45 PM:

" I hate to say this, but when the dust [or mold] settles this will turn out to be another hoax, just like "Y2K" , and Time magazine's "global freezing" and all such hoaxes. Have fun people paying for these hoaxes. The other one was global cooling ....or is it warming./.. "

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NoMoreSchoolMold wrote on Jul 13, 2007 5:14 PM:

" Damp Indoor Spaces and Health, August 2004Institute of Medicine (IOM)http://www.nap.edu/books/0309091934/html o Damp buildings produce an environment where molds and bacteria grow: "One consequence of indoor dampness is new or enhanced growth of fungi and other microbial agents."(p.4)? "Mold growth is usually accompanied by bacterial growth."(p.4)o Mold and bacterial growth produce health effects. (p.5)o Bacteria and Fungi can cause allergic responses, non-allergic, toxic and inflammatory effects (p.7)o Excessive indoor dampness is a public health problem. (p. 14)? There is evidence of health effects from dampness and mold growth in heating, ventilation and air- conditioning (HVAC)... "

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Exposed! wrote on Jul 13, 2007 4:25 PM:

" People who haven't taught or had children in sick buildings really have no room to comment. Read the Jan. 9th, 2007 front cover of the Wall Street Journal which reports the facts from the Institute of Medicine stating that immunotoxic, neurological, respiratory, and dermal responses occur after exposure to specific toxins, bacteria, molds, or their products. When you all have been forced into disability because of environmental exposures in your workplace, feel free to share your experience with the public. Otherwise, let those of us who have chronic inflammatory diseases after our exposures enlighten the public to the risks. "

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Unbelievable wrote on Jul 13, 2007 3:41 PM:

" Great post Audi 5000. I will contact the "Friends of Mold" organization immediately. They'll bring this discrimination to a quick halt. I know that the Director has to be an attorney. I'm sure if you go to the recommended website it will automatically link you to the law firms homepage. God I love this country! "

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I wrote on Jul 13, 2007 2:06 PM:

" When will the school bonds pay for a newly remodled Lodi High, or will they continue to discriminate? "

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Director, Center for School Mold Help wrote on Jul 13, 2007 2:05 PM:

" Toxic mold in schools is a national, as well as your local problem. The constructing of defective school buildings that leak or show condensation problems from Day One and/or the lack of proper repair and maintenance is what leads to moisture intrusion and thus, school mold. Serious, chronic illnesses result from these buildings. Behavior problems and low achievement can also be associated. Your district needs to answer the question: why were these interior walls moldy? Was it from a roof that leaked for twenty years? The teachers probably know. Comments? Learn more from our free resources at www.schoolmoldhelp.org. "

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Audi 5000 wrote on Jul 13, 2007 12:05 PM:

" I'm tired of the hate on this blog. Mold is a living thing too. Who are all you to judge whether the mold's life is more or less important yours? "

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Which bonds? wrote on Jul 13, 2007 11:36 AM:

" Which bonds will they be selling off? Why isn't that addressed? It better not be Measure L bonds. The tax-payers in Stockton that paid for the bond were promised that Measure L funds would be spent only on Stockton projects. I hope this is not another case of Stockton families being lied to by LUSD and the school board. "

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T & C wrote on Jul 13, 2007 11:36 AM:

" I hope they're not just dumping that toxic insulation into an open container into that open dumpster into the atmosphere. Isn't that the same insulation responsible and carrying the toxic mold spores? Are they just throwing it into Vaccarezzi's dump in Galt? Doesn't that need to be disposed of properly? Referring to the picture on the bbottom. 30 years on the job and never seen it done that way. You need to certify the men and payroll on that project, too, city manager to make sure they're not cheating wages. "

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T & C wrote on Jul 13, 2007 11:32 AM:

" Unbelievable, I still get sporadic checks from my asbestos attorney through a class action suit, as I was diagnosed with some mesothelioma and have gotten about $6000 so far, while the attorney has gotten rich. The attorneys arrange for my medical and checkups but it doesn't ever get better. Mold is just another toxic problem and the manufacturers of insulations and materials that breed it need to be held responsible. "

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just like milking a cow wrote on Jul 13, 2007 11:07 AM:

" 8 million dollars! jeez who can i sue for the mold in my bathroom? please do tell. "

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Yeah right! wrote on Jul 13, 2007 10:09 AM:

" don't janitors clean the class rooms anymore? just walk around Lodi High school and you can see the trash blowing all over, now just wait till all the lawsuits come out from being sick over the years.. "

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Dawes wrote on Jul 13, 2007 9:56 AM:

" Hire better superintendants, admins, etc. to run the district. This won't be the last high dollar problem. The district has made a lot of money by purposely pushing out the experienced highly qualified teachers, and replacing them with cheaper labor: long term subs, interns, and foreign teachers from the Philippines on H1-B visas. As the experienced teachers go, so goes the level of education. The usual corporatism/cronyism at work. "

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Hmm wrote on Jul 13, 2007 9:21 AM:

" How about selling that fancy track they just installed, and also that fancy scoreboard to help offset the cost? Or perhaps, sending the kids to Lodi Hi to get a taste of what it's like old classes/ bathrooms / facilities? Perhaps then, Lodi Hi could be upgraded! "

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Per Plexed wrote on Jul 13, 2007 9:03 AM:

" Color me confused. What in the world does the cafeteria and adult ed have to do with Tokay's mold problem ? Will they get their money back ? If not why not ? No wonder the public doesn't trust the LUSD. "

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Unbelievable! wrote on Jul 13, 2007 8:09 AM:

" I am so unhappy that the school district is being forced into this situation. What happened to Chlorox and warm water. This is overkill by the State. I've said it before...there's more mold in you own home than there is in these classrooms. The attorneys have given up on asbestos because there's no big jury awards any more. Mold will suffer the same fate. "

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First $3 Million... wrote on Jul 13, 2007 7:17 AM:

" Now $8 Million Dollars! Just wait till the final bill comes in from the contractor! I know it will top $10 Million because all construction companies know a city, county, state or federal project is like milking a cow! The $$$ just keep coming and coming! "

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