Philadelphia City Council Threatens To Halt School Funding Over Asbestos

No plan, no more money. That’s the Philadelphia City Council’s message to its school district leadership following the recent closure of two schools because of asbestos issues. Asbestos contamination is an ongoing and large-scale issue in Philadelphia’s aging school buildings. “We’re not going to just give you funding if you’re not going to give us a plan,” Philadelphia Councilmember Anthony Phillips said at a recent news conference. Council members put pressure on the district to provide a detailed and definitive plan to fix the toxic issues. Philadelphia’s Education Committee Chair Isaiah Thomas said the school district continues to ask for more funds for public education. But it hasn’t provided a plan for how it will fix the physical and structural issues in its buildings. “The recommendations we make and suggestions that we give, not saying they don’t listen to all of them, but far too often, the important ones fall on deaf ears,” Thomas said. The school district is the only one in Pennsylvania that does not control its tax rates. Instead, it relies on funding from city hall and the state capitol to operate. Schools Shut Down Due to Asbestos Issues Two Philadelphia schools were shut down in March after inspections found toxic material in the buildings. One of the schools, Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter located in the largely Black neighborhood of Nicetown-Tioga, was cleared to reopen just days later, but parents rem...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Asbestos Exposure Source Type: news