MADISON, Wis. -- The Madison Metropolitan School District is considering several possible options about what to do about Chavez Elementary School, which has been closed since Nov. 28 because of mold contamination.

Questions remain over how the district will come up with the money in the short run. However, the other question of who will do the rebuilding is close to being answered.

The teachers union, a regional carpenters union and the school district superintendent said Thursday the current plan is to hire Tri-North Builders of Madison to put back what mold clean up crews took out. However, district officials said they are still negotiating with the company and hasn't finalized anything yet.

"We are confident that the use of highly skilled union tradesmen and women will result in a properly constructed school providing a healthy learning and working environment for our kids," said Bob Hegge, Regional Carpenters Union representative.

District officials said they had no lingering problems when the local Tri-North built Wright Middle School. The builder would not be subject to the normal school board bidding process because the Chavez work is considered an emergency.

The Madison teachers union is pushing for the work to be done quickly, but acknowledges there's a question of how to pay for it.

"I'm not pushing the school district to do anything in a way that would hamper the economic well-being of the school district and that's what they have to look after right now," said John Matthews of the teachers union.

The school superintendent said the district could either borrow the money from a state trust fund or take it out of maintenance in the operating budget.

"I don't believe that funding the reconstruction itself, so that the contractor can go ahead and start, will really be an issue," Art Rainwater said. "The issue becomes as time goes on who ends up paying in the long run."

One liability issue being looked at right now is Westra Construction's performance bond, a sort of mandatory insurance on the project. The district was highly criticized for hiring the Waupun company, which was the low bidder for the project.

The cleanup and repair is expected to cost more than $500,000.

District officials expect mold test results from the second floor and a report on what caused the mold sometime next week. District officials said repairs can begin after that.

Rebuilding the school could possibly delay other maintenance projects, school board member Carol Carstensen said.