Two Spring Valley Schools on State's AB300 List For Seismic Safety

Two schools in Spring Valley, and , are on the state of California's database of schools that need structural improvements in order to fully withstand an earthquake, it was reported on Thursday.

The two Spring Valley schools are included on Assembly Bill (AB) 300, a piece of state legislation approved in 1999, which outlines more than 7,500 K-12 buildings that needed additional repairs to improve their seismic safety.

A 19-month California Watch investigation, which was released Thursday, uncovered holes in the state's enforcement of seismic safety regulations for public schools. 

California began regulating school architecture for seismic safety in 1933 with the Field Act, but data taken from the Division of the State Architect’s office shows 20,000 school projects statewide never got final safety certifications. In the crunch to get schools built within the last few decades, state architects have been lax on enforcement, California Watch reported. 

See:  California Watch Interactive Map

A separate inventory completed nine years ago found 7,500 seismically risky school buildings in the state. Yet, California Watch reports that only two schools have been able to access a $200 million fund for upgrades.

Though Monte Vista and La Presa Elementary are included in this list of 7,500, the good news is that neither is located on or near an earthquake faultline.

Debbie Murray, program planner for Grossmont Union High School District, which Monte Vista is a part of, said that the school was included on the AB300 list because of three factors: zone, type of construction, and age of buildings (Monte Vista was built in 1962).

She said that of the 12 buildings on campus, four have been upgraded to appropriate modernization standards, four are in the process of being upgraded with existing bond money, and the remaining buildings have plans to be upgraded.

Bob Kiesling, executive director of facilities management for the District, added that a complete modernization of each building (including far more than just upgrading seismic standards) costs about $1.5 million.

CORRECTION: It was previously reported that Monte Vista was on the AB300 list because of two projects found on the state of California's Department of General Services (DGS) website. Murray said that those projects were separate construction projects, and not the reason for the school's inlcusion on AB300.

Schools on the AB300 list were not necessarily in need of major repairs, it only means that there were more than 20,000 projects at these schools that have not been completed and/or certified by the state.

David Yoshihara, assistant superintendent of the responded via email to a Mount Helix Patch request for information about La Presa Elementary's, project on the AB300 list.

"La Presa Elementary, along with the approximately 7,500 other school buildings on the AB300 list from across the state, are looking at how best to bring the building into seismic conformance.  The date of application for La Presa Elementary was 1962—almost 50 years ago. It lists the structural systems in place as Mixed (M) and RM1 (Reinforced Masonry Bearing Wall—Flexible Diaphragm). The District believes the categories are incorrect and would need, according to DGS, a structural engineer to verify this fact. The District will be looking at the potential cost of an engineer and subsequent seismic upgrades that might be recommended," Yoshihara wrote.

This story was produced using data provided to Patch by California Watch, the state's largest investigative reporting team and part of the Center for Investigative Reporting. Read more about Patch's partnership with California Watch.