SAUGUS SCHOOL DISTRICT AWAITS REPORT; TESTING TO DATE RETURNS NO SIGNS OF CLASSROOM HAZARDS.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

State officials have scheduled a meeting for Thursday to discuss their findings from a series of tests conducted at five Saugus elementary schools.

A 70-page report detailing the findings will be available Wednesday, with a meeting scheduled the following night, showing whether portable classrooms could have been the source of toxic mold and chemicals that sickened two teachers and several students in the Saugus Union School District.

``They have been investigating our situation for a couple of weeks,'' said Adina Neale, who teaches at Rio Vista Elementary School and is the district's indoor air quality coordinator. ``They will disclose their findings Thursday.''

School officials expected to get a copy of the study findings by Tuesday, then will provide copies so teachers and parents can review the findings before the meeting.

``We want the community to be able to look at the document,'' said Neale. ``It's a lot of data at one time.''

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of Mountainview Elementary School, 22201 W. Cypress.

Copies will be available at Bouquet Canyon Elementary School, Foster Elementary School, Helmers Elementary School, Rio Vista Elementary School and Skyblue Mesa Elementary School.

It will also be available at the district office and the Valencia Public Library.

``We want everybody to have access,'' said Neale.

District officials said they called for the testing after students began experiencing symptoms of nausea, headache and stuffy noses.

During the testing, a team of experts removed carpeting, cleared vents and sampled the air, searching for organic substances, volatile compounds, formaldehyde, phenol, arsonic and mold.

The team included state officials, a school district toxicologist and Dr. Gary Ordog, a local toxic specialist. They also looked for cracked ceiling tiles and rusty or dark stains, which are signs of water damage and conditions conducive to the growth of mold.

The latest gamet of testing follows a series of tests last month that turned up nonhazardous levels of chemicals and nontoxic forms of mold spores, but no sign of the poisonous mold stachybotris believed to have caused the illnesses.