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District hears plan from Diamond to market school sites for cellular towers; community health concerns surface
Summary
Diamond Communications and PSBA described ConnectedPA, a no-cost program to market district property to wireless carriers and potentially site new monopoles, offering revenue shares to the district. Board and public asked about RF safety, property impacts and timing; district will gather more site data.
Diamond Communications and partners presented ConnectedPA to the Penncrest School District committee on March 9, proposing a program to market district-owned properties to cellular carriers, potentially hosting new towers to improve wireless coverage and generate lease revenue for the district.
PSBA representatives framed the program as a no-cost way for districts to receive a connectivity analysis, access templated legal documents, and have Diamond market sites to carriers. Aaron Payne, Diamond's vice president of strategic partnerships, said Diamond would handle outreach to carriers, zoning and lease negotiations and would fund tower construction; the district would retain final approval of any tenant. Max Lynn, Diamond's senior vice president, showed crowd-sourced maps indicating weak in‑building coverage at several campuses and noted an existing tower about 0.9 miles from Maplewood Elementary that could already change coverage patterns.
Diamond described the typical economics: Diamond funds the site build (roughly $500,000), carriers pay monthly rents (an illustrative $2,500/month in the presentation), and the district would receive a revenue share (presented as 30% for the first and second tenants and 40% for a third tenant). Diamond said typical lease-up across tenants can take several years; the company's examples estimate a multi-year pipeline that could generate substantial returns over time but depends on carrier demand and market conditions.
Board members asked operational questions — who would own the tower (Diamond would), how much land is required (about 2,500 sq ft or 0.05–0.25 acre depending on layout), whether non-campus district parcels could be marketed (yes), and how far a site's RF coverage would extend (depends on frequency; lower bands propagate farther). Diamond emphasized the district keeps final approval and that a site-marketing agreement (SMA) only authorizes marketing, not construction.
A member of the public raised health and safety concerns about 5G and towers located near schools, saying she could not trust WHO or federal assurances. Diamond representatives cited a 2024 World Health Organization review (presented by the vendors) and explained that RF exposure from individual phones is often higher than the exposure from a tower. Board members noted legal constraints such as the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the practical limits on local authority over radio-frequency health determinations.
Next steps: Diamond offered to run further coverage analyses on additional district properties if provided, and the district said it would follow up on requested maps and health‑impact materials. No formal action was taken at the meeting; the SMA and any future lease/placement would require board approval.
