Huntington Beach schools will remain closed as asbestos remediation drags on

Parents in the 9,000 student Ocean View School District in Huntington Beach have been wondering how long a handful of campuses will continue to be shut down for unexpected and costly asbestos clean up.

“That’s the $10 million question, I suppose,” said school board president Gina Clayton-Tarvin.

The district discovered asbestos at the beginning of this school year and spent millions of dollars to put hundreds of students in other schools and classrooms. Some are being bused half an hour away to other school districts.

She said of the three affected schools, Hopeview Elementary will be back to normal this coming fall. Oakview Elementary students will also be back on campus in the fall - but not in the main building. They'll be working in portable classrooms while construction crews work on the main campus.

But Lakeview Elementary students have it worst of all. That school will be out of commission not just this school year, but all of next year, too. The school's 250 students will attend nearby Westmont Elementary.

“I’m hoping that by the end of 2016 we would have everybody back in,” Clayton-Tarvin said.

She said the transportation and clean up costs will total between $10 million and $13 million.

The costs have raised concerns that the school district would be pushed into bankruptcy, triggering a state takeover.

But Clayton-Tarvin said the school district’s superintendent is set to present a spending plan in two weeks that will put those fears to rest.

“We’ve got $22 million in hard cash sitting, waiting to be used,” she said. "We will not be insolvent and we will not be taken over by the state of California."