Richmond’s Kennedy High to Stay Closed Pending Test for Toxic Chemical
Students and staff may not be returning to John F. Kennedy High School campus in Richmond for the new school year as the state carries out more testing for tetrachloroethylene — a carcinogenic solvent once common in the dry-cleaning process.
The West Contra Costa Unified School District closed Kennedy out of what it called an abundance of caution after underground soil samples detected “varying levels” of the solvent otherwise known as PCE on July 31. Kennedy is one of six PCE sources in Richmond under investigation, and, along with the former headquarters of the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is one of 115 toxic spots across the city.
Kennedy High School’s soil may have become contaminated from a PCE plume linked to a dry cleaner that operated at its San Pablo Avenue location for 40 years, officials with the Department of Toxic Substances Control said Thursday at a town hall in the Richmond Memorial Auditorium.
The current and former owners of Omo’s Fabricare Dry Cleaners reached a $100,800 settlement with the state in March for failing to effectively clean up the site. A cleanup order from 2023 said the dry cleaner transitioned to safer solvents in the early 2000s before closing in 2015. The site has been fenced off and unoccupied since 2017.
State officials told the school district there is no immediate danger to students or staff. On Friday afternoon, the school nevertheless remained closed until further notice.
The campus has been under construction following the July 2025 demolition of Kennedy High School’s main building as part of a school modernization plan.
At the town hall on Thursday, Jeff Carter, assistant superintendent of business services for the school district, said WCCUSD has chosen alternative sites for Kennedy students to begin their school year if air-sample testing shows a danger. Those sites include Contra Costa College in San Pablo, the Craneway Pavilion on the waterfront next to the ferry terminal, or some other district-owned site.
“We are planning for no delays for the start of the school year for Kennedy High School,” Carter said. “The test results will help us determine where we will open for the start of school.”
Carter said testing of the site will continue through Saturday, with results expected by Wednesday of next week.
The first day of school for the district is Aug. 18.
Ian Utz, a DTSC senior environmental scientist and project manager, said there is no immediate risk to neighbors of the Kennedy campus, and that testing will show if PCE made it indoors where students and staff could be exposed.
Utz said concerns over contamination date back two decades before PCE was detected on July 31. He said it was unclear when PCE first entered the campus, but it was detected in five out of six soil samples taken along Cutting Boulevard and 45th Street.
“Additional steps may be warranted,” Utz said. “In the meantime, DTSC continues its investigation to determine the source of the contamination and the extent of impacts on both the school site and the surrounding neighborhood.”
In addition to the Kennedy campus, city officials closed the adjacent Richmond Swim Center until further notice.
LaShonda White, Richmond’s deputy city manager for community services, said The Plunge in Point Richmond, which is open seven days a week, will host all registered classes at the swim center until the city and school district deem the swim center safe to reopen.