Scotts Valley High School Principal Gregg Gunkel would like to get the classrooms behind him, closed because of mold problems, ready for his students as soon as possible. (Bill Lovejoy / Sentinel)

 
SCOTTS VALLEY — Negotiators continue to talk as a Sept. 26 trial date looms in the lawsuit over shoddy construction at Scotts Valley High School.
 
The Scotts Valley Unified School District filed a $33 million lawsuit in 2001, claiming that more than 40 contractors are to blame for a laundry list of problems encountered after opening the school six years ago.
 
While the new school year is in full swing, eight classrooms in three buildings, a wrestling room and a weight room remain sealed because of mold. Damage also was done to the school’s new gymnasium.
 
Some classes are taught in nine portable classrooms that have internet access and air conditioning. Interim superintendent Tim Cuneo said the students deserve access to all buildings on the campus.
 
"It’s frustrating because you have this plant sitting there and you can’t utilize it to its fullest extent," Cuneo said.
The district contends that builders should have constructed better drainage systems for the campus, which is in an area of rolling hills. When water drained down from the hills, it saturated the new classroom buildings, causing the mold to grow.
 
The campus is a study in contrasts. One portion looks new and modern while another appears to be in a sort of stasis. Planters are empty, large areas of dirt remain where grass should grow and drop-offs near sidewalks have yet to be leveled off.
 
These are just a few of the projects that were forced to stop once the lawsuit was filed, said Scotts Valley High School Principal Gregg Gunkel.
 
"None of this should look this way. Does this look like a new school?" Gunkel asked Wednesday as he walked through dirt picking up trash. "We’re hoping for a settlement so we can make this school look the way it should as soon as possible."
 
Settling the lawsuit has become more difficult over time as some of the companies listed as defendants folded, Gunkel said.
 
Santa Clara-based Tech-5 Corporation, the construction management firm listed in the lawsuit, did not respond to requests for comment. Tech-5 was fired from its job overseeing the $32 million school project in 2000.
 
While the mold does not pose a serious health risk to most people, district officials say the contractors should have known water from the adjacent hills would drain down to the school.
 
Mold-infested classrooms are evidence for the district, Cuneo said, so rebuilding before a settlement is reached or a trial concludes is not an option.
 
Fiss and Tim Volkmann, the district’s attorney for the lawsuit, were in mediation talks all day Wednesday.
 

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