Smiles greet Hope View Elementary’s reopening after nearly yearlong asbestos closure

The halls of Hope View Elementary School were again filled with the sounds of eager students and teachers Wednesday morning after being closed almost a year for renovations and asbestos abatement.

Ocean View School District officials reopened the Huntington Beach campus for a tour by more than 100 parents and students a week before the new school year starts Sept. 9.

“It is a testament to the dedication of this community, because all the people that are here stuck with us through the hard times,” said Supt. Carol Hansen, who joined the district this summer. “We see great things for the future. Having high-quality, safe conditions for students will help them be more productive and will contribute to student achievement.”

Construction crews had worked since last fall to remove small amounts of asbestos, a potentially harmful mineral fiber, from Hope View and two other Ocean View campuses — Oak View and Lake View elementary schools, also in Huntington Beach. Several upgrades also were made at Hope View, including a new ventilation system, improved wireless connectivity in each classroom, new carpeting and linoleum, updated lighting systems and installation of interactive whiteboards in every classroom, the district said.

The cost to Ocean View of removing the asbestos from the campus and upgrading the facility totaled about $5.2 million.

Asbestos abatement and facility upgrades remain to be finished at Oak View, which will welcome all its students back for the new school year but will conduct classes in portable buildings on campus.

Lake View will be closed for the entire 2015-16 school year. Students will attend Ocean View’s Westmont Elementary School in Westminster.

Upgrades at Lake View are awaiting approval from the district board of trustees.

In October, students and teachers at the three schools were displaced for the rest of the 2014-15 school year, with students bused to eight other schools in four districts.

Fourth-grade teacher Rebecca Broussard, who has worked at Hope View for 17 years, had to travel to Holder Elementary in Buena Park to teach her students last school year. She said Wednesday that she is excited to be back in her classroom and has been decorating it for the coming year.

“It’s wonderful to be back with the staff members because we’re all such wonderful friends and it was really hard to be separated from them,” she said. “Today was an exciting time because I knew we and the students would be together again.”

The vibe among parents was much different from what it was about a year ago, when many were furious with the school district for the way it handled the asbestos situation. On Wednesday, many parents were smiling as they watched their children play on campus.

Diana Spak, whose daughter will be attending kindergarten at Hope View, said she is happy with the district’s priorities.

“It’s reassuring that they have the right focus this year, that they’re focused on the kids and safety,” she said. “It seems like last year we got off to a rocky start because there was some questioning of whether that was truly their focus or not. It’s nice to see that they’ve pulled through and showed us, with the actual physical changes that they’ve made, that they are focused on the kids.”