Potential Cancer Cluster Under Investigation at Dos Pueblos High School

A group of Dos Pueblos High School employees, concerned about a potential cancer cluster, met with Principal Bill Woodard just over a week ago to express their worries. In response, the school district has set several studies in motion: to determine the amount of cancer at the school, to survey those affected, and to assess the environment on campus that might be related, said Santa Barbara Unified Superintendent Hilda Maldonado on Thursday.

Roughly 160 people work at DP, including teachers and classified staff, said Woodard. Built in 1966, the 182-acre high school sits below Cathedral Oaks Road in the El Encanto Heights neighborhood, with an old avocado orchard across the road to one side and the Glen Annie Golf Course above. A group of 15-20 employees had talked with Woodard about their concerns, which had been triggered after an employee received a cancer diagnosis recently. The anxiety was compounded by the deaths by cancer since about 1990, as well as a recent death that may have been due to cancer.

Maldonado said district leaders first spoke with County Public Health to seek guidance on what to do. Among those steps is collecting more information on who is getting cancer, their personal statistics, and what types of cancers were people getting. At the same time, as soon as Monday, a contractor will begin an environmental health assessment of things like the air, water, and soil on campus.