Piedmont school board members got good and bad news during this week's meeting on Tuesday. The good news — construction is on or ahead of schedule for the new Havens elementary school, and retrofit projects at Ellen Driscoll Theater and Piedmont High.

The bad news — unanticipated costs may drive up the $25.5 million bill for Havens by 5 or 10 percent.

The extra cost is due to low levels of hydrocarbons found in soil and ground water during Havens excavation. Tons of soil had to be trucked from the site to a special disposal area, said project consultant David Burke, who shared information with the school board this week. Toxic disposal is costly; and fresh soil had to be brought in. "Soft costs" for soils engineers and the like are also included in the estimate, he said.

Burke estimated in the final tally, about $1.6 million will be added to the Havens cost, which includes one more school bus than was originally budgeted to transport Havens students to their interim school in Emeryville.

After a mad scramble to adjust bus routes and schedules the first months of school, buses are running smoothly and travel times are reduced, Burke reported. Behavior problems on the buses with some students were addressed recently when fifth-grade monitors were posted on the buses, and a citation program was implemented for repeat offenders.

Havens parents' club is also looking into nonpaid adult monitors on the buses. School buses

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cost $100,000 per year per bus, Burke noted.

A donor list is now available where charity-minded residents can contribute toward upgraded amenities at Havens school such as iron gates and handrails, window grills, light fixtures and molding. Havens designer Mark Becker is spearheading the campaign to raise $97,000 for these enhancements, which would tie in with the school's design. The board approved the plan unanimously.

Other projects that await donations include: $10,000 for directory and site signage at the high school; $15,000 for stage lighting and footlights at Ellen Driscoll; $30,000 for LCD projectors in 15 classrooms at Wildwood; $91,000 for play structure and matting at Beach school and $7,500 for directory and site signs at the middle school.

A complete list can be found on the district Web site at www.piedmont.k12.ca.us.

The board also:

  • Voted unanimously to deny Global Tides online school for Piedmont

  • Heard presentations from each Piedmont school about their goals and how to attain them

  • Got a recap of the October "Shaping Our Future" educational workshop to receive feedback on future budgetary and policy-setting matters

  • Discussed new ways to track and monitor student performance year to year.