In a few weeks, kids will head back to school. But in Richmond, Stege Elementary will stay closed for another year, as the campus is demolished and rebuilt from scratch.  

The old school was deemed to be too dangerous, but only after a group of angry parents and advocates pressured the district to make some changes.  In the process, the district lost trust with a lot of people.

The demolition of Stege Elementary has already begun, but it won't be an easy process. The old school, built in 1943, is loaded with asbestos and lead paint that will take a lot of time and money to remove safely. But when the new school is built, it will be a dream come true for Lakisha Mitchell-Keith, who helped spearhead the effort.

"Just the idea that these children will get the resources that they deserve and have deserved for decades. I mean, just that opportunity is it just fills me with joy," she said.

For decades, Stege fell into disrepair while other schools were prioritized. When it was abruptly shut down last year, most of the windows had been painted shut while the thermostats were set to the mid 80s. Dry rot was found in the walls of three classrooms, but repairs were halted when asbestos was discovered in the window putty. There was no water in the kitchen area and in some bathrooms, when toilets were flushed, sewage bubbled up from the floor.

"I've been aware of it, in detail, for about 16, 17 years," said Don Gosney, who serves on the citizens' Bond Oversight Committee that keeps an eye on how school bond money is spent.  

He said he has been disgusted for years over the way Stege was passed over for repairs. And while many angry parents have blamed it on racism, Gosney said a former board president convinced him it was more about politics.

"Stege is, what, 92.9 percent minority? And they don't count as much as some of the other groups here in West Contra Costa County," said Gosney.  

But did people really say that in meetings when they were making decisions?  

"Not when they're making decisions," he said. "But in the background, yes, they did. That same guy, quite frankly, he said 'F--- Stege. They can't vote for me.'"

The district now plans a full rebuild of Stege, after it said it found an additional $18 million in its budget. The total cost will be $61 million to construct an entirely new school.  

The current timeline said the new Stege Elementary should be ready by the open of school next year. So, for this school year, the kids will continue to commute about a mile away to DeJean Middle School for classes.

So, what did Gosney learn from this experience?  

"That our elected officials aren't nearly as smart as we hope they would be. They're not as honest as we hope they would be. That there's not as much transparency in the process as the public demands," he said.  "When I get up before the school board, as I will do tonight to give a report, I will talk about the lack of transparency.  And it will just turn them off, 'There's Don complaining again.'  Instead of saying, 'Oh, there's a problem that maybe we should address.'"

But at that meeting will be Guadalupe Enllana. As a parent, she got so involved in the fight over Stege that she eventually ran and won a seat on the school board.

"Even though this (Stege) is a win, there's still a lot of heaviness to this win on the parents' perspective, right? Like, we shouldn't have had to go through all this to get this done," said Enllana.

But did she think the district itself had learned something from this?  

"I hope so," she said. "I hope so. And I am there to insure that, at least with my time, that we are holding people accountable so that we can assure that this does not happen again."

But Lakisha has decided to take the path of diplomacy in dealing with the district. She's staying positive and doesn't think it's productive to dwell on the anger of the past.

"I believe that they've seen that there were mistakes made, that there were things that shouldn't have been done.  And as far as I'm concerned, as long as they're moving forward to getting it done, that's the key," she said.  

But then she added, "But let me be very clear: We will not rest until we see trucks come in and start demolishing the building, and the workers come in."

She seems to be taking that time-honored approach in politics when you're dealing with a former adversary:  "Trust but verify."