Schtia-yorg Greg Plutko, Ed.D. Placentia-yorba Linda Superintendent Unified School District Board of Education*

All but one of Orange County's twenty-eight school districts have (encapsulated) asbestos present at one or more its schools. Response: The District agrees with this finding only as it relates to the District. Over the years, the District has maintained AHERA reports relating to the condition and removal of asbestos at its Facilities, Maintenance & Operations office and at individual school sites. Each school district keeps records on its own facilities and whether its facilities have encapsulated asbestos. We have no knowledge of the status of facilities in other school districts.

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. Preparing Every Student For Success Now And In The Future Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding. Pursuant to AHERA regulations, the District is required to maintain records of where encapsulated asbestos is located. As required by law, these records are available for public review at the District's Facilities, Maintenance & Operations office and at individual school sites. The District's Facilities, Maintenance and Construction personnel are familiar with the contents of the AHERA reports and the location of where encapsulated asbestos is located. Certainly, these employees need to be aware of where asbestos is located, but we disagree that members of the public need to know, as this may create safety and security concerns.

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. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding only as it relates to the District. The District is not in a position to comment on the availability of applicable AHERA reports at other school districts within Orange County. The District is in compliance with AHERA requirements and provides copies of AHERA reports for public review at its Facilities, Maintenance & Operations office and at individual school sites.

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. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding only as it relates to the District. The District is not in a position to comment on whether other school districts within Orange County have identified and trained a "Designated Person". The District has designated and trained a "Designated Person" who is responsible for asbestos-related activities at the District's campuses. Please note that the AHERA regulations do not require a Designated Person at each school within the District, which this finding suggests.

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. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding only as it relates to the District. The District is not in a position to comment on whether other school districts within Orange County train their teaching and administrative staff on hazardous materials management. The AHERA regulations do not require that teaching and administrative staff be provided with hazardous materials training, therefore, the basis for this finding goes beyond current statutory requirements.

Orange County public schools are subject to very infrequent EPA inspections for AHERA compliance. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding only as it relates to the District. The District is not in a position to comment on the frequency at which other school districts within Orange County are inspected by the EPA for AHERA compliance. The District does not control the frequency at which EPA inspections are conducted, nor can the District make an assessment as to whether the inspections occur "infrequently" as that term is vague and ambiguous.

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: a. Performing all work at schools that deals with, or potentially deals 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, C. Separately contracting for hazardous materials inspection, abatement, and construction work once hazardous materials are abated, d. Including clear schedule performance requirements in every contract, e. Defining intermediate schedule milestones for all construction-related 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. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding. The District utilizes generally recognized best practices in District construction projects when addressing hazardous materials, as applicable to each specific project. However, because every construction project is unique, the District must have the flexibility to execute its projects without a rigid set of abstract requirements that may be inapplicable to certain projects. In all cases, the District manages its construction projects involving hazardous materials in accordance with state and federal law. We are unaware of processes at other districts.

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 hazardous materials and with AHERA regulatory compliance. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding only as it relates to the District. The District is not in a position to comment on whether other school districts within Orange County have provided their charter schools 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. Although there are currently no charter schools within the District, under state law, it is the responsibility of the independently run charter schools to manage their facilities and comply with AHERA regulations. The Grand Jury's finding is inconsistent with state charter school law.

Many school districts rely on paper documents for recording key information such as facilities data, facilities construction and repair plans, and AHERA reports. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding only as it relates to the District. The District is not in a position to comment on whether other school districts within Orange County rely on paper documents for recording key information such as facilities data, facilities construction and repair plans, and AHERA reports. To the extent possible, the District currently scans and stores electronic copies of its facilities data, facilities construction and repair plans, and AHERA reports. Notwithstanding the above, current state and federal law does not require that the District record facilities data, facilities construction and repair plans, and AHERA reports electronically. Therefore, the basis for this finding goes beyond current statutory requirements.

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. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding only as it relates to the District. The District is not in a position to comment on whether other school districts within Orange County have a documented facilities plan. The District has performed a needs analysis, but has not performed a facilities master plan due to lack of funding. Additionally, the finding is vague as to the types of plans, key information, costs, funding sources, and schedules that are referred to. The District maintains plans and key information in various forms depending on the nature of the project that is being considered. A generalized finding regarding the nature, timing of project implementation, and size of the individual project is impractical, unreasonable, wasteful, and not required by law.

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. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding only as it relates to the District. The District is not in a position to comment on whether other school districts within Orange County fail to post key safety-related information on their web sites such as upcoming activities at school facilities involving the abatement of hazardous materials. Whenever the District undertakes any project that involves the abatement of hazardous materials, the District takes all necessary steps to ensure the safety of students and staff members. If the specific project requires that safety-related information be relayed to students and staff members, the District takes all reasonable steps to ensure that such information reaches students and staff members, including the posting of warning signs to separate students and staff from the abatement, if applicable. In most cases, any work involving the abatement of hazardous materials is performed in completely separate buildings that are unoccupied. Notwithstanding the above, current law does not require that the District post safety-related information on its web site. Therefore, the basis for this finding goes beyond current statutory requirements and posting safety-related information on the school district's website as suggested by this finding may increase safety and security issues.

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. Response: The District disagrees wholly with this finding. The District complies with state law regarding the translation of documents provided to parents. DISTRICT'S RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY'S RECOMMENDATIONS