Public commenters link health costs to local pollution; calls to reconfigure grade placements
Summary
Speakers during public comment urged the board to act on student safety and community health: one resident linked high insurance premiums to local particulate pollution and a proposed fossil‑fuel plant, citing a third‑party study; another asked the board to remove eighth graders from the high school and fifth graders from the middle school.
During public comment, community members raised health, safety and facilities concerns for the board nd urged follow‑up action.
Georgiana Jocelyn opened the public comment period by thanking student liaisons and urging trustees to adhere to the code of conduct. Ashley Crocker of the Fork Union District directly connected the community—oncern about high employee insurance premiums to air pollution from fossil‑fuel facilities. "No other surrounding district has a polluting fossil fuel plant," Crocker said, and she cited a third‑party Harvard analysis she said estimated "60 to 90 premature deaths over the course of the plant and 180 cases of asthma." She urged the board not to support another plant that she said would worsen community health and increase costs.
Andrea Overweg, a long‑time resident, urged the board to examine grade configurations and asked that eighth graders not be housed in the high school and fifth graders not be placed in middle school. She called for a space study or other plan to shift grades and questioned whether current configurations separate older and younger students adequately in shared facilities such as gym and hallways.
Board members received the comments; staff and trustees noted the public health and facilities concerns for follow‑up in planning and community engagement. The board did not take action on the specific requests at the meeting.
