Stege parents: Why was school operating with such serious building deficiencies?

With just days to go before about 250 Stege Elementary pupils begin attending classes at a middle school for the next couple of years, tensions are running high between district officials and parents over the school closure timeline as well as building hazards and move logistics.

West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Chris Hurst told a group of worried parents Wednesday evening that rebuilding the school will require multiple steps, totaling $43 million. Fund 21, non-bond state funds, will cover $41 million, and another $2 million from Measure DE will cover the remainder of the campus rebuild.

Hurst said that he met in May with the WCCUSD council of elders, former Black educators with a lifelong knowledge of Richmond, about when to start implementing previously planned improvements at Stege. In an interview with Richmondside Tuesday, Hurst said that Stege was slated for improvements years ago, falling behind Richmond High and Kennedy High by order of priority.

But when staff were doing summer maintenance, they discovered lead paint and asbestos in window putty that was being removed from the 81-year-old school’s outdated window panels. Hurst said he learned about the materials, which can be hazardous if inhaled or ingested, on July 23. 

“Everything happened quickly,” he said. (It also happened that on July 19 a civil rights lawsuit was filed against WCCUSD, on behalf of parents alleging longstanding problems of understaffing and substandard conditions at Stege and similar problems at two other district schools, including Kennedy High School.).

Stege is closed to the public during the rebuild, as licensed environmental cleanup companies work. A plan for the campus’s redesign has not yet been submitted to the district, Hurst said. 

District staff explained how the Office of Public School Construction uses an annual facility inspection checklist to determine if a school is fit to operate and is clean, safe and functional. 

The Environmental Protection Agency’s asbestos guidelines for schools require them to complete inspections for asbestos in building materials and prepare management plans and to take action to prevent or reduce asbestos hazards. Schools are not required to remove the material unless “severely damaged” or removed via a construction project.

Audience members at Wednesday’s meeting interrupted the district’s presentation several times, including when staff said that past inspections found few deficiencies with Stege’s condition.

“This information is too late!” one woman shouted. 

Stege parent Lakisha Mitchell-Keith stood up and interrupted the presentation, telling Hurst that parents were already aware that there were deficiencies long before inspections cleared the site to operate.

“We understand that you have a report that says (the school) was good. But our children have had to deal with sewage on their shoes!” Mitchell-Keith said. “What we want to know today is what you’re going to do to make sure that this never happens again.”

As the group applauded Mitchell-Keith, Hurst asked parents to wait until the end of the presentation before asking questions. 

Row of parents stands to present their demands to WCCUSD

A group of parents stood and lined up next to the superintendent, holding up neon-colored written posters stating their demands. At one point Hurst turned his back to them, and offered the microphone to parents in the audience who wanted to ask  questions. 

Stege alum Verdell Simon-Tatum asked, “Why did the district allow children to be there when they knew hazardous material was there? I also was a teacher at Stege, so I’m very concerned about that and why you let students keep going when you knew this was (going) on.”

The demands on the posters were read aloud to Hurst. The signs stated that parents want to visit DeJean Middle School, where their children are being relocated to by bus, before school starts on Monday. They also want weekly meetings with staff for updates on the Stege rebuild, and that the rebuild be equitable and consistent with upgrades already made at other schools. 

To parents’ questions about the readiness of DeJean, staffers admitted that the school isn’t yet prepared for an elementary school population. Mitchell-Keith took the microphone and said that DeJean lacks crucial needs such as enough bathrooms or proper separation between middle and elementary students.

Michele Jackson, chair of the education committee for the NAACP El Cerrito branch, said Stege is the oldest school in the district and a historic landmark for many parents and grandparents. She questioned why, given its value to the community, the school was last in line for upgrades.

“All elementary schools are supposed to have the same standards,” Jackson said.

Hurst responded that within the last three years, he’s seen district staff work hard to upgrade school sites that are most in need. More parents shouted that they don’t believe that to be true, given the conditions at Stege, which the lawsuit says had inoperable windows, a lack of clean drinking water sources, broken floor tiles and mold-infested walls.

Other parents asked Hurst whether the presence of lead and asbestos threatened their children’s health. Simon-Tatum asked how it was considered acceptable for a school to continue to operate with possible lead and asbestos contamination, if a house with those materials might be considered hazardous.

“You wouldn’t want your children in there,” she said.

Staff members explained how lead and asbestos — substances routinely present in many older buildings — are primarily only an issue if, for example, lead paint peels or releases dust into the air when disturbed during construction. Exposure to such materials takes place everywhere throughout communities, not just in aging schools, they said. The Stege building is 81 years old.

Stege’s new principal Claudia Velez stepped forward to say that her staff is ready for the first day of school despite the challenges. She encouraged parents to visit DeJean and see how the Stege community will be integrated. An open house event is planned for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday evening.

“We’re going to give small group tours. There will be someone there to show you around the school to show you different spaces,” she said. “I understand that this is causing a lot of anxiety, but we’re really excited to work with you and your students.”

Velez was met with further questions about how DeJean will be ready for school by next week. Hurst responded, saying, “Our staff really care about our students. I hear what you’re saying, and we’re working extremely hard to get the school year ready.”