ACAMPO - The discovery of asbestos at a small Christian school has resulted in declining enrollment, infighting on the board of trustees, the firing of a principal and worriesthat the 35-year-old in-stitution may not survive.

MokelumneRiver School, with less than 200 students, has been in chaos and financial distress since a President's Day weekend construction project to replace a classroom breezeway resulted in the discovery of asbestos.

The school's enrollment has declined by more than 20 percent, with more parents threatening to pull children, school officials said. Along with the declining enrollment and the hit the school's $1.5 million budget will take from the tuition decrease, four board members have been removed from their seats by the board president, some teachers have resigned and the school's K-8 principal Nadine Zerbe has been fired.

All of this, according to a group of disgruntled parents led by former board members Gary Silva and Kevin Schwemley, stems from board president and school founder Clifford Goehring's attempts to cover up the asbestos discovery to avoid paying what has been estimated at $50,000 in clean-up costs.

"I deny those allegations," Goehring said. "We're doing everything we can to clean up. I did make some missteps, and if I could do it over, I would do things differently.

"I have some regrets. Now, I want to regroup and move on."

It was business as usual at the school until President's day weekend, Feb. 16-18, when Goehring and school volunteers performed some work at the school and tore down tiles from a breezeway between five classrooms.

The ceiling tiles were covered in bound asbestos, and volunteers left them exposed, unaware they were contaminated.

On Feb. 20, parent Shane Jones, a professional in asbestos testing, took a sample of the tiles to his lab after his son Chase Jones, a sixth-grader, asked him about it.

Jones said his lab work confirmed asbestos existed, and he then advised Goehring to evacuate the buildings and start cleaning it up. Goehring confirmed that Jones was authorized to take the sample.

"He told me to keep quiet, and he wanted my son to lie about it," Jones said. "That's what bothers me so much. It's the ethics of it."

Goehring denies the allegation.

Zerbe said school Superintendent Shannon Woodard told her to inform parents via the school's automated phone system on Feb. 23 that there was asbestos on campus.

Those messages were left with parents, but Zerbe felt they were delivered too late. "It should have been done right away," she said.

Goehring and Woodard said the school is looking to raise money to pay for the asbestos remediation, knowing it will cost as much as $50,000. She said the school is "nearing completion of the cleanup" and has taken all students out of affected classrooms.

According to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District compliance manager John Cadrett, the school did test positive for asbestos, but nobody at the school was in danger because the asbestos was found in a "nonfryable" state, which means people could not inhale it.

Asbestos, when airborne, can cause deadly lung damage over time, Cadrett said. The school's asbestos was bound to a tarred substance and was not at risk to go airborne, Cadrett said.

Even so, Silva, Schwemley and many of the school's parents are irate and said Goehring "was lucky" the asbestos was not airborne. They say he tried to cover it up, neglected professional advice and put students at risk before the Air Pollution Control District conducted its investigation.

"There is a right way to deal with asbestos when you find it," Schwemley said. "That process was not followed. A lot of buildings have asbestos. It's how it was dealt with."

"I can deal with a lot of things," parent Tammy Johnson said. "But when someone has that type of disregard for my child's safety, I don't tolerate it."

Silva said the school is in such a poor position financially, it could fold by the end of this school year.

"I'm concerned that with the financial crisis, the school will not be able to pay our teachers and/or distribute tuition refunds to eligible parents," he said.

Woodard, however, said she believes the school is doing all it can to move along and is confident it will survive. She has begun enrolling new students, and some parents already have committed to next year as a show of confidence, she said.

Contact reporter Keith Reid at (209) 367-7428 or kreid@recordnet.com.

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