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Flint board responds after teacher letter raises asbestos and safety concerns at renovated school
Summary
A grandparent raised concerns about a teacher-distributed letter alleging asbestos in school doors; Superintendent Jones said district testing cleared the renovated building and the district will work with its environmental consultant and attorneys to reassure families.
A grandparent told the Flint Board of Education Committee of the Whole on Sept. 12 that a teacher sent home an unauthorized letter about possible asbestos in doors at a recently renovated school and urged the district to explain conditions to families.
The concern came during the meeting’s public-comment period, when Sonia Sims Akins identified herself as the grandmother of an eighth grader at STEM Academy and said she received a letter from a teacher that raised alarms about work that “wasn’t changed out back during the renovations.” She said parents and grandparents should be informed and asked the district to “please address this, that the parents and administration know what's going on.”
Superintendent Fitzgerald Jones told the board he had been notified by the principal that an unauthorized letter had been distributed. Jones said district testing and compliance steps were completed prior to occupancy of the renovated building and the district would follow up with families after consulting with counsel and the district’s environmental contractor.
“We were notified by the principal that there was a teacher who sent a letter home to families, without authorization, concerning asbestos in the doors,” Superintendent Jones said. “Before we took occupancy of the building ... we went through all testing. We went through compliances with the state. We were not going to be able to occupy the building if there was any danger to students or to our staff.”
Jones said the district has booklets with testing information in each building and that Arch Environmental and Clark Construction will be involved in follow-up communications. He said the district did not want to send information to families until legal and technical reviews were complete.
Board members acknowledged the concern and urged families to use district channels. Trustee King thanked the speaker and said he looked forward to the superintendent’s report. Vice President McIntyre and others emphasized the district’s obligation to be diligent about asbestos and other environmental hazards and to make information available.
The superintendent also reported separately that a small fire in an oven at Freeman was extinguished, the fire marshal was notified, students were evacuated and returned to class without injury.
The board said it will provide formal information to families after legal and technical review and reminded the public that state- and district-required inspection records and the related booklets are available in school buildings.
The human-resources and other committee business that followed included several motions to move personnel and contract items to the full board’s Oct. 15 meeting for adoption.
