diff --git a/tools/release.sh b/tools/release.sh
index 382915b..d7c86a6 100755
--- a/tools/release.sh
+++ b/tools/release.sh
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@
 # Run this from the root directory of Luminotes's source. Note: This will nuke your database!
 
 ORIG_PYTHONPATH="$PYTHONPATH"
-PYTHONPATH=.
+export PYTHONPATH=.
 python2.5 tools/initdb.py
-PYTHONPATH="$ORIG_PYTHONPATH"
+export PYTHONPATH="$ORIG_PYTHONPATH"
 cd ..
 rm -f luminotes.tar.gz
 tar cvfz luminotes.tar.gz --exclude=session --exclude="*.log" --exclude="*.pyc" --exclude=".*" luminotes