How did a Sacramento classroom carpet replacement cost $22,000? What receipts show
How did replacing half a classroom’s worth of carpet cost more than $22,000?
That is the question that supporters of former sixth-grade teacher Jeanine Rupert of Phoebe Hearst Elementary School have been asking since she was removed for ripping up her classroom carpet on the last day of the 2024-25 school year.
In the wake of Rupert’s reassignment and her co-teacher Mark Henrikson’s placement on administrative leave, hundreds of parents have organized school walkouts, protests and an effort to recall Board President Jasjit Singh.
The five-digit figure was referenced in a notice of unprofessional conduct sent to Rupert in July. Sacramento City Unified School District officials have previously said that much of the cost had to do with asbestos testing and abatement of the tiles beneath the carpet.
New documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee show that the cost to remove the remaining carpet, clean the tile underneath and then replace the carpet in room seven was $8,229.63 — $4,716.03 on materials and $3,513.60 on 48 hours of staff labor.
Asbestos-related expenses were much more costly — testing cost $1,600 and removal amounted to $12,600.
The district’s concern over asbestos exposure has been a contentious piece of the Phoebe Hearst carpet saga. The possibility of exposing students or employees to asbestos was not mentioned in Rupert’s disciplinary letter (the human resources department seemed more concerned about supplying students with hammers and a crowbar to aid in her unauthorized project) but became a public talking point after parents began to rally for her return at a September school board meeting. District spokespeople said then that they determined the carpet removal did not cause a disturbance that would expose kids to asbestos.
Teacher alleges district retaliation over carpet removal
Documents obtained by The Bee show that a school employee filed a work order to remove what was left of the old carpet and clean the remaining adhesive on the tile on June 12, two days after Rupert’s attempt to pull it up.
Seven samples from the classroom were sent to a lab in Rancho Cordova for testing on June 30. The lab found small amounts of white asbestos in three samples, according to a July 2 report. But an internal investigation completed in early September determined that the carpet removal did not cause exposure to asbestos.
A district spokesperson could not answer The Bee’s questions about who determined there was no possibility of asbestos exposure or when, citing staff absences due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
In a July 9 email, Human Resources Director Stacey Shorey asked Assistant Superintendent of Facilities Support Services Chris Ralston whether families of Rupert’s students should be notified of possible asbestos exposure. Ralston replied saying that there was no exposure because no tiles were disturbed.
Asbestos abatement in Room 7 was completed by Aug. 14, according to another work order.
Rupert said in a response to her disciplinary letter that she was told a large part of the cost to fix the damage she caused was due to concerns about asbestos, which she questioned.
“I do not know why the District felt compelled to do this,” she wrote of the asbestos testing. “The carpet was installed around 15 years ago, well after asbestos was outlawed, and the work orders at the time should have confirmed that it was laid over tile. To be clear, I did not disturb the tile at all. As such, there was no possibility of asbestos (if any was even in the subfloor) of being disturbed, a fact confirmed after the testing.”
In a recent claim against the district, Rupert’s attorney James Jones accused the district of failing to comply with the federal asbestos hazard laws, alleging that neither Rupert nor any of her colleagues were ever made aware that there were asbestos hazards in the classroom. Jones goes on to write that the district’s “unwarranted” discipline of Ms. Rupert was a retaliatory effort to cover up the district’s “disregard for safety” and its “failure to comply” with federal law.
Previously only seeking to be reinstated, Rupert is now seeking $2.3 million in damages from the district for the emotional distress she says she has suffered since being reassigned to another district school.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 3:00 PM.
