Kennedy gets the all-clear for students to return to campus next week
on August 14, 2026
Kennedy High School will reopen for students on Tuesday, allowing school to start on schedule and on campus, two weeks after the site was closed because of toxic vapors.
The Kennedy High community has been living with uncertainty since July 31, when tests confirmed the presence of tetrachloroethylene, also known as PCE, in soil vapors on the campus at Berk Avenue and Cutting Boulevard. PCE was found in six locations within 0.7 mile of the campus, on the north and northeast sides. The West Contra Costa Unified School District then closed the campus and began crafting a contingency plan for Kennedy students to start the school year elsewhere, as the California Department of Toxic Substances Control tested to determine if PCE, a suspected carcinogen, had infiltrated indoor air.
At a town hall meeting Thursday to update the community, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said, “I have great news.” Citing data from scientists and medical experts, she said, “There is no evidence of vapor intrusion at Kennedy High School and there is no evidence of immediate or long-term health concerns from PCE in our soil gas.”
Recents tests found minimal traces of PCE inside the school, with the exception of the kitchen and metal shop, said Jeff Carter, interim associate superintendent of business services. DTSE told the district that detectable levels found in those two rooms likely came from consumer products, Carter said.
Though DTSC found that PCE levels in the kitchen and metal shop were below state workplace exposure limits, those areas will remain closed and monitored after the school reopens. DTSC also will do an inventory on what products are stored in those rooms.
Until about 20 years ago, PCE had widely been used in dry-cleaning and as a degreaser.
“I feel extremely confident that the school is safe and that it will remain safe due to the vigilance of the school district,” Dr. Gina Solomon, Occupational, Environmental and Climate Medicine division chief at UCSF, said at the town hall.
The PCE plume is deep in the soil and groundwater under the campus, she said. The district and health and science officials were concerned about the possibility that vapors had been released into the air. “That has been conclusively shown not to be true,” Solomon said.
Moving forward, she said, the construction project that started last year at Kennedy and will continue into 2019 will have protections. District officials have said the PCE is not related to the construction.
A PCE plume was first discovered in the area’s groundwater around 2005 during an investigation into PCE at the Miraflores senior housing development, about half a mile from Kennedy, DTSC officials have said. They have not determined the source.
Solomon said the site will continue to be monitored, “to make sure that if that plume moves in the future, that we know it.”
She added that she would feel “totally comfortable” if she had a child at Kennedy or if she was a teacher there.
The Richmond Swim Center, which is next to Kennedy and has been closed since Aug. 3, will reopen the week of Aug. 24.
Teachers cheered when they received the news Thursday morning that the Kennedy campus would reopen, said Principal David Luongo. “Getting this news today was extremely uplifting and exciting for our school community.”
Kennedy High School students may start the school year in another location because of toxic chemical plume
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