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Tokay High mold cleanup rises to $13.5 million (11:35 a.m.)
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071119/A_NEWS/71119008
By The Record
November 19, 2007 2:37 PM
LODI — The cost of Tokay High School’s mold cleanup is $1.8 million over its estimated budget, raising the cost of the emergency project to $13.5 million.
Art Hand, Lodi Unified’s assistant superintendent for facilities and planning, said the added costs stem from additional mold found in the school’s performing arts and industrial technology buildings.
Contractors found toxic mold at Tokay in late June, prompting the district to delay the school’s fall opening by five weeks and bring in portable buildings to house students.
Read Tuesday’s Record (below) for more on this story by staff writer Keith Reid.
Tokay mold cleanup millions over budget
Cost of project now totals $13.5 million
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/A_NEWS/711200320
By Keith Reid
Record Staff Writer
November 20, 2007 6:00 AM
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 Keith Reid at (209) 367-7428 or
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Recordnet.com: Tokay High mold cleanup to cost millions (11:09 am)
... School district officials will borrow up to $8 million from various district funds
to pay for eradicating toxic mold from the inner walls of Tokay High School. ...
www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070712/A_NEWS/70712002- 50k - 2007-07-12
Recordnet.com: Toxic mold to delay Tokay school start by 5 weeks
... For more information, the district will post information about Tokay High's mold
problem and updates on the school's modernization progress on its Web site, www ...
www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070627/A_NEWS/706270306/-1/A_NEWS04- 56k - 2007-06-27
Recordnet.com: Mold may close Tokay High for extra month (11:31 am ...
LODI – Lodi Unified School District officials are expected to request Tokay High
School be closed for an extra month this summer because of mold in all of ...
www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070622/A_NEWS/70622002/-1/A_NEWS13- 48k - 2007-06-22
Recordnet.com: Delaying Tokay High's academic year is the right ...
... Toxic mold discovered in the walls at Tokay High School has forced trustees to take
the only option open to them: the delayed start of the 2007-08 academic ...
www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070709/A_OPINION/707090308/-1/A_NEWS13- 55k - 2007-07-09
Recordnet.com: Mold strikes SJ school
... While it's unclear how much money it will cost to fund mold eradication at Tokay
High School in Lodi, the district can draw some perspective from the black ...
www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/A_NEWS/706230320- 56k - 2007-06-23 |
