Fullerton Joint Union High School District*

All but one of Orange County's twenty-eight school districts have (encapsulated) asbestos present at one or more its schools. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. FJUHSD has no knowledge of the status of facilities in other school districts and, therefore, cannot verify the accuracy of the Grand Jury's findings.

Although current EPA standards provide that encapsulated asbestos does not present an immediate hazard to people who come near it, any physical disturbance and/or weathering which damages that encapsulation and releases asbestos fibers into the air will present an immediate hazard to anyone exposed to those fibers. Hence, broad-based awareness of where encapsulated asbestos is located is essential to avoid disturbing it such that it does become a threat to students and staff. The FJUHSD disagrees partially with this finding. Encapsulated asbestos at school sites does not pose an immediate health hazard to staff members, students, or public. While employees of the district should be aware of where encapsulated asbestos is located, the District disagrees that broad-based public awareness of where encapsulated asbestos is located is prudent. Broad-based awareness of where encapsulated asbestos is located may lead to vandalism thereby putting school district facilities, employees and students at risk.

Many school districts are not in full compliance with the AHERA regulatory requirement to have applicable AHERA reports available in the main offices of each school for public review. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. FJUHSD is in full compliance with AHERA regulations. AHERA reports are available for public review at the District Service Center and at each of the District's schools in compliance with AHERA regulations, 40 C.F.R. section 763.80 et seq. In addition, FJUHSD has no knowledge of the status or location of AHERA reports in other school districts.

Many school districts are not in full compliance with the AHERA regulatory requirement to identify at each school in their district a "Designated Person" and to train each Designated Person to EPA-defined standards. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. The FJUHSD is in compliance with AHERA regulations and has a designated person at the District level. The AHERA regulations do not require a trained designated person at each school. In addition, the FJUHSD has no knowledge of the AHERA regulatory compliance of other school districts. Orange County Grand Jury August 17, 2016

Although nearly all school districts train their facilities and maintenance staff on hazardous materials management, many fail to provide hazardous materials training to their teaching and administrative staff. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. FJUHSD has trained maintenance and other staff members as required by AHERA regulations. FJUHSD is in compliance with AHERA regulations with respect to identifying and training the appropriate individuals. In addition, FJUHSD has no knowledge of the training practices of other school districts in the County.

Orange County public schools are subject to very infrequent EPA inspections for AHERA compliance. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. The FHUHSD performs all inspections as required by AHERA regulations. The frequency of these inspections is mandated in the AHERA regulations. The District cannot make an assessment as to whether inspections are frequent or infrequent.

Inadequately managed construction efforts at more than one Orange County public school have led to expensive and disruptive hazardous materials events. Many Orange County school districts lack one or more documented requirements for contracting for construction that implement generally recognized best practices for dealing with hazardous materials. Such written best practices include: Performing all work at schools that deals with, or potentially deals a. with, hazardous materials at times when students and staff are not present, b. Controlling the scope of construction/modernization/major repairs undertaken in any one year to remain within the district's ability to manage the efforts, Separately contracting for hazardous materials inspection, abatement, c. and construction work once hazardous materials are abated, Including clear schedule performance requirements in every contract, d. Defining intermediate schedule milestones for all construction-related e. work that is expected to take over one month to complete, and f. Requiring monitoring by district senior staff of progress on construction work via personal walkthroughs of the work in progress. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. FJUHSD manages its construction projects in accordance with all Federal and State regulations and requirements with respect to handling hazardous materials and utilizes best industry practices. In addition, FJUHSD has no knowledge of practices of other school districts in Orange County. Orange County Grand Jury August 17, 2016

Many school districts with public charter schools approved and financed by their district, lack, and have not provided their charter schools with, written definitions of the respective roles and responsibilities of the district and the charter school in dealing with, written definitions of the respective roles and responsibilities of the district and the charter school in dealing with hazardous materials and with AHERA regulatory compliance. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. FJUHSD neither charters nor maintains charter schools and therefore cannot speak to the accuracy of this finding.

Many school districts rely on paper documents for recording key information such as facilities data, facilities construction and repair plans, and AHERA reports. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. FJUHSD complies with AHERA regulations which require the maintenance of paper records. The Grand Jury's finding is inconsistent with Federal law and AHERA regulations.

Some school districts have no documented facilities plans, and many districts that have plans lack key information in their plans such as estimated costs, funding sources, and schedules for work initiation and completion. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. FJUHSD recently completed a Facilities Needs Analysis and Facility Master Plan. Furthermore, FJUHSD is currently in the middle of a $155 million Capital Facility Improvement Program which is being driven by the aforementioned Facilities Needs Assessment and Facility Master Plan. In addition, FJUHSD has no knowledge of practices of other school districts in Orange County with respect to facility plans.

Many school districts fail to post key safety-related information on their web sites such as upcoming activities at school facilities involving the abatement of hazardous materials. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. As previously stated, FJUHSD complies with all Federal and State regulations and requirements with respect to handling hazardous materials, and utilizes best industry practices.

Despite the fact that all Orange County school districts serve highly language- diverse communities, several districts have no provision for communicating with their community in any language other than English. The FJUHSD disagrees wholly with this finding. FJUHSD complies with State law regarding the translation of documents provided to parents. Key communications are translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Korean as appropriate for the school community being served. In addition, FJUHSD has no knowledge of translation practices of other school districts in Orange County. Orange County Grand Jury August 17, 2016