When compiling a list of needed upgrades in Coos Bay's aging school buildings, removing old floor tiles might not quickly jump to mind. But given their age and that they contain asbestos, their replacement makes sense.

The presence of thousands of vinyl asbestos tiles throughout the school district is not something to worry about, said Joel Smallwood, the district's maintenance manager. Although old - some as old as the buildings they are in - the tiles are in relatively good condition, Smallwood said.

“We have a lot of tile that is close to the end of its life span,” he said. “But when it's encapsulated and in good condition like it is, you don't need to remove it.”

In industry terms, the asbestos in the tiles is nonfriable, meaning it cannot be dispersed into the air, where it could pose a health concern. Smallwood said the asbestos would remain nonfriable even if a tile were to break. If a tile begins to crumble, however, there might be cause for concern.

“If tiles are breaking up, we would get it out of the building as soon as we learn of it,” he said.

In all the district's schools, Smallwood said he is aware of six cases of damaged tiles, none of which pose a health concern.

At Marshfield High School, there are two classrooms with loose tiles. The handiwork of Smallwood's crew is evident in Marshfield's hallways, where the uniform color is occasionally broken by a square of red in a sea of blue.

In Room 213, a small rug covered a patch of tiles near the back of the classroom where a couple of tiles have segments missing. Smallwood noted that while the tile was broken, the wax coating that secures the composite material had not ruptured. Nevertheless, the precaution of covering the tiles had been taken to prevent further damage while staff wait for a workday without classes in session to make the repairs.

Other precautionary measures have been taken to prevent tiles from breaking. Throughout the school, teachers have received pads to place under their chairs to prevent further degradation.

“They are there to prevent a problem,” Smallwood said.

Marshfield Principal Travis Howard said he is not aware of any cases where tile has begun to crumble.

“I haven't heard of anything like that happening,” he said. “We take appropriate measures to make it safe in our school. We would never put our staff or students at risk.”

Smallwood said all custodial crew members are trained in asbestos awareness, so if a problem developed with tiles, or in other structures, it will be quickly addressed. In addition to the daily review of the building, surveillance is performed every six months, while more thorough investigations take place every three years.

As they contemplate a bond measure to finance building repairs, School Board members have enlisted the services of DLR Group to determine repair needs at each school. With the exception of Sunset Middle School, every school needs its tiles replaced, the group found. At Marshfield, the estimated cost of replacing every asbestos tile with non-asbestos would cost about $980,000. Having assessed its repair needs, the board now is working to inform the public of those problems and consider an acceptable price tag.

“We are doing this so we can get a sense of what other community members are thinking about it,” said School Board member Donna Opitz.

At previous meetings, the committee said any bond measure would likely be at least $24 million, allowing the district to replace roofs, improve accessibility and consider possible expansions.

Replacing heating systems or upgrading electrical wiring may be a higher priority, but Smallwood said the tiles can only last so long.

“At some point, they all have to be gone,” he said.