Teachers, families demand more answers on asbestos in Philly schools

By WAKISHA BAILEY, KERRI CORRADO

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — Those who are directly impacted by the closures of Philadelphia schools because of asbestos issues want more information about potential exposure.

“I feel like this is a crisis and we deserve to get this right,” Frankford High School teacher David Gavigan said. In April, Frankford closed for the remainder of the school year after asbestos was found.

Teachers and parents from some of the schools affected by asbestos joined forces and took matters into their own hands. They personally delivered their demands to the Philadelphia School District saying they want more answers, more transparency, and say they deserve better.

To date, six district buildings have been affected and three of those have reopened.

C.W. Henry Elementary School reopens for in-person learning South Philadelphia school closed for remainder of school year after more asbestos found “We are going to speak up when we are not getting information when we think something isn’t going well,” Gavigan said.

The group originally tried to walk into the school district headquarters on North Broad Street hoping to meet with a district leader, but they were turned away by a security guard saying the building was closed.

About 15 minutes later, district leaders came out and heard their concerns.

“We just want to know where the asbestos was and what are they doing to remediate it and what are the plans for reopening,” Mitchell Elementary teacher Maeve Rooney said.

After asbestos was found in their school, Mitchell students were learning virtually for weeks before they were relocated to another school.

“If there’s other plans being worked out, they need to tell us that, so that we’re not blindsided come September for the next school year [with] ‘oh, we can’t reopen,'” Rooney said.

“You will never know how this will affect your health until years down the road, and it’s not a good thing to sit with as you try to do your job,” teacher Tim Conley said.

District officials say they are working on a comprehensive plan to prepare more alternate sites for in-person learning if more damaged asbestos is found in the future.

Many of the asbestos issues happen due to building conditions changing with age, use, weather, construction and other factors, officials said.

“We agree with you more needs to be done to effectively address the disposition of our schools here in the city of Philadelphia,” said Oz Hill, the district’s deputy chief operating officer.

“This is not a problem or a challenge that developed overnight,” Hill added. “This is a challenge that is decades in the making, and…it will require the coalescing of resources within the district, within the city of Philadelphia, within the state of Pennsylvania,” Oz said.

Teachers say they will continue to advocate for their school communities, particularly their students.

“Those are the reason I do what I do,” Rooney said. “They are the reason.”

The district says they will address the petition’s questions and concerns the best they can within a reasonable time limit.

Teachers and parents want the district to respond in a week.

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