District Cited for 62 Safety Infractions

The Covina Valley Unified School District has been cited for 62 safety violations, which state officials described as an unusually high number of infractions.

The violations listed in the citations, issued Wednesday for two high schools and maintenance and administration buildings at district headquarters, range from empty fire extinguishers to a failure to maintain equipment in chemistry labs.

Twenty-one violations were deemed serious, meaning they pose a threat of critical injury.

“This is a lot of safety violations. They are going to have to go through each citation and make repairs where needed,” said Dean Fryer, spokesman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

If the district were a private company, it would face several thousand dollars in fines, he said. But as a public entity it is exempt.

Cal/OSHA has cited the district before. In the previous 18 months, the district had been slapped with 16 other safety violations, including the improper disposal of asbestos.

District officials said they will correct any problems but asserted that students and employees are completely safe.

“There are some things that need to be done. But am I alarmed? No. I don’t think this is injurious for the safety of any child,” Supt. Jack Rankin said.

In any corporation with a $70-million annual budget and 23 sites, people leave out extension cords, block electrical panels and forget to report broken equipment, he said. “If [inspectors] go to any school district of comparable size they could find these violations,” Rankin said. “But we are targeted.”

He complained that a disgruntled former employee is responsible for an unusual number of inspections. “Anyone can make a call to Cal/OSHA,” the superintendent said.

Although the 13,800-student district spent $20 million a few years ago on school improvements, Rankin said budget cuts have forced it to trim its maintenance program.

“We have cut back the maintenance department by a third,” he said.

“With a choice between maintenance and classrooms, we cut maintenance. Some things don’t get done.”

At Northview High School, there were nine serious violations, including a table saw without a guard, an unguarded radial saw arm, exposed electrical openings and lack of warning signs or labels on asbestos.

At Covina High School, there were six serious violations, mostly in the chemistry labs. In one case, a lab hood that is supposed to vent dangerous chemicals was not working.

At the district’s Badillo Street maintenance facility, there were six other serious violations.

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District officials say many of the problems cited have already been fixed. Others would have been taken care of when reported by staff, Rankin said.

In the case of the lab hood, the superintendent said, the teacher believed it was working and would have reported the problem once she discovered it was broken.

As for the empty fire extinguishers, Rankin said someone may have discharged them and not notified school officials.

State officials said the district can appeal the citations, and Rankin said the district will challenge some of them.

The superintendent said he is confident his personnel are taking care of business. “I have full faith in our maintenance staff,” he said.