Vermont superintendents tell House panel PCB testing, abatement costs are straining districts

Two Vermont superintendents told the House Education Committee on May 8 that polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination found in several school buildings has created immediate safety, program and budget challenges for districts and that current state testing and funding arrangements leave them shouldering large, uncertain costs.

Katie Sutton, superintendent of the Hartford School District, told the committee that testing last year found two schools at “the school action and immediate action levels,” forcing relocation of three programs and off-campus placement of the culinary arts program. "We've spent, $424,662.49 out of our local budget," Sutton said, saying Hartford has not received state reimbursement under the current model and is still weighing how to use a locally approved bond for capital work amid the contamination.

Sutton said bulk-sample testing shows PCBs in source materials such as adhesives, caulk and paint and that the chemical has permeated concrete walls ‘‘between 1 to 5 inches’’ in some locations. She told lawmakers that, in her district's experience, air sampling alone under Act 74 can understate the scope of contamination because readings vary with ventilation, temperature…