Conejo Board Approves School Quake Repairs : Education: Despite questions on costs, trustees agree to seek state and federal funds to fix buildings.

Despite questions by one trustee about the need for costly earthquake repairs, Conejo Valley school board members have decided to seek $8 million in state and federal money on hundreds of small repair jobs at 31 school district locations.

The Conejo Valley Unified School District board voted late Thursday to hire three employees to oversee the repairs, which include the patching of cracked walls and replacement of damaged ceiling tiles and light fixtures.

Already, the emergency agencies have approved $1.1 million in repairs in the district. School officials say they expect approval of the full $8 million to cover all damage.

After the Jan. 17 earthquake, school district inspectors initially found that school facilities had suffered only minor damage.

District officials now say that federal and state inspectors have concluded that an estimated $8-million worth of earthquake-related repairs will be needed.

But trustee Mildred Lynch is skeptical of the estimate.

“Is this a scam?” Lynch bluntly asked Assistant Supt. Sarah Hart during Thursday night’s board meeting.

Lynch said she has received several phone calls from citizens questioning the need for costly repairs.

But Hart said even minimal damage at 31 school sites can add up.

“If we have five hairline cracks that are patched and painted it costs the same as five inch-wide cracks that are patched and painted,” she said.

But Lynch said Friday that she was still not comfortable with the enormous price tag.

“My problem is the figures just don’t add up that high to me,” she said.

But other board members said the $8-million estimate seemed probable.

“The day after the earthquake I went to about 10 different schools where we did not think the damage was that great, but it adds up,” Trustee Dorothy Beaubien said Friday.

“I think we can question (the estimate), but I think Sarah has given us enough information that it makes sense,” she said.

Board President Dolores Didio said replacing broken ceiling panels and lighting fixtures with more earthquake-safe materials is an investment against future quakes.

“In the long run it should be less expensive,” she said.

Part of the $8-million estimate includes funding for administration. Salaries for a project manager, construction supervisor and a secretary will be paid through federal and state disaster relief funds, Hart said.

The board approved hiring three people for those positions. But Lynch questioned the need to hire additional personnel, even if it is not at the district’s expense.

“There’s several things about this that bother me,” she said during the meeting. “How many project managers do we have already?”

Hart said the district’s planning and building manager is too busy with construction plans for two new cafeterias at Cypress and Aspen elementary schools to handle the numerous earthquake-repair projects.

The district currently has a temporary consultant serving as a project manager, whose salary is being reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hart said. But after 90 days, FEMA cannot pay for the position because it would violate federal employment regulations, Hart said.