Some students return to Oak View Elementary after asbestos cleaning

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Some students returned to class at Oak View Elementary School in Huntington Beach on Tuesday after the school underwent heavy-duty asbestos cleaning.

Students in second to fifth grade are returning to portable classrooms while work continues on the main campus. Kindergarteners will remain at Pleasant View-Ocean View Preparatory Preschool, and first-graders will stay at Sun View Elementary.

Abatement still needs to be done in the main building, but district Superintendent Gustavo Balderas says that won't happen until later, and there is currently no health or safety threat to students or teachers.

"That's going to happen hopefully this spring and summer, so the kids will be back in school in their regular classrooms of the school in the fall," said Balderas.

More than 1,600 students were relocated to nearby schools in October as district officials dealt with asbestos found in three schools in the Ocean View School District.

Oak View Elementary was the first of the three schools to close last year after asbestos concerns. It was then followed by Hope View and Lake View elementary schools.

According to this month's construction report, abatement at Hope View Elementary is complete, and final clearance has been issued so that construction staff can enter the buildings. Abatement at Lake View Elementary had a tentative completion date as of Monday. Both of those schools remain closed.

Many of the students affected by the closures had to be bussed to other schools at a cost that has been reported by the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register to be at $50,000 per week.