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Cheltenham SD reports storm damage cleanup, says health officials found no air-safety risk after nearby SPS fire
Summary
Following recent windstorms and a nearby SPS fire, district staff described tree damage at Cedar Brook and said county health officials found no health or safety risk from smoke; questions were raised about possible soil contamination after pumps failed at the nearby site, but staff said Cheltenham was likely not downwind.
Cheltenham School District staff briefed the Facilities Committee on windstorm damage across the district, including a tree that fell onto a tennis court at Cedar Brook and a separate tree that downed power lines. Liam Swigard, the presenter, said crews cleaned storm damage within a couple of days and that the district coordinated with county public-health officials after a nearby SPS fire to confirm air and safety conditions for students.
"This is a picture of a tree that fell at Cedar Brook on the tennis court..." Swigard said during the update, and later added that the district had planned school closures around Feb. 18 while officials sampled and assessed risks. He reported that county health officials determined airborne levels were below thresholds established by agencies the district referenced, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and that the district did not identify a health-and-safety risk preventing students’ return.
Committee members raised questions about potential soil contamination after the meeting record referenced a pump failure at the nearby site that allowed some wastewater to seep into a creek. A board member asked whether the district had tested soil as well as air; Swigard answered that, from what he had heard, the pumps lost power and some wastewater entered the creek and that he could follow up with more information. "I think fortunately, the wind was not going towards Cheltenham during that incident," Swigard said.
Board members thanked district health and emergency staff for the rapid response. "Just credit to doctor Scribe in the district for responding to that so quickly and operating our site as a community resource," a committee member said, praising the district for serving neighbors during the fire response.
District staff said playgrounds within a roughly one-mile radius of the impacted area were closed as a precaution and that cleanup at Cedar Brook was completed within days. Committee members did not vote on any emergency measures at the meeting; staff said they would follow up with more details on any testing or long-term monitoring if additional sampling was conducted.
There were no public commenters on this topic during the meeting.
