Schools Need $8 Million in Quake-Related Repairs : Thousand Oaks: Estimate contrasts sharply with reports given right after temblor. District officials there are problems at 31 sites.

Although only one school suffered major structural damage in the Northridge earthquake, earthquake-related repairs at Thousand Oaks schools will cost an estimated $8 million, district officials said Monday.

The estimate, which came after months of detailed surveys conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Office for Emergency Services, contrasts sharply with damage reports given right after the quake.

Initial reports found that schools in the Thousand Oaks area suffered minimal damage compared to schools in Simi Valley and Fillmore.

But Conejo Valley Unified School District officials said Monday that a thorough examination has revealed “hundreds” of quake-related repairs needed at 31 school district sites.

“There is not a site in the district that does not have at least some sort of plaster crack,” Assistant Supt. Sarah Hart said.

So far, only 31 damage survey reports have been approved for government funds totaling about $1.1 million, a FEMA spokeswoman said. But about 60 additional projects are awaiting funding, she said.

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District officials hope that the necessary repairs will be paid for through disaster relief funds over the next two to three years.

Many of the jobs include filling cracks in walls, replacing fallen ceiling tiles and reinstalling lighting systems, officials said.

“It’s a combination of little things throughout 31 schools,” said Nat Johnson, a service and repair supervisor for the district. After the quake, he said, “we did a quick, immediate look at our sites to make sure we could get our kids back in safely. As far as an in-depth (study) goes--that takes time.”

The damage is more serious at a few campuses such as Thousand Oaks High School, where one classroom was red-tagged as structurally unsafe. An entire wing of the school’s old modular classrooms are being replaced, and cracks in another school’s swimming pool will have to be repaired.

In addition, cracks caused by the earthquake have exposed asbestos at Redwood Intermediate School’s library, multipurpose room and two classrooms, forcing authorities to remove the insulation. That alone is expected to cost about half a million dollars, district officials said.

“The damage is there, it’s just not as graphic,” said Oscar Corea, the district’s consulting project manager for earthquake-related repairs.

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Pointing to a thin crack snaking up a brick wall in Maple Elementary School’s cafeteria, FEMA inspector Gerrold Ramos said some quake damage is hard to notice at first, but can still be expensive to repair.

“If this was a point where this wall was anchored to the foundation, it would be a problem,” the engineer said, running his finger along the hairline crack. Similar patch-and-repair projects on buildings at Newbury Park High School were estimated at nearly $15,000, he said.