Once again, it becomes apparent that the Children First. Always people care nothing about children:
Despite vowing to speed up the process of replacing light fixtures
containing dangerous chemicals in city schools, the Education Department
does not follow its own protocols to alert parents and quickly remove
toxic PCBs, according to emails obtained by the Daily News.
The exchanges between staffers from the DOE and Environmental
Protection Agency show that defective light fixtures are still leaking
in city schools — and replacement of the faulty fixtures at some were
not handled properly.
...
At Public School 253 in Brighton Beach, several fixtures did not work
in the auditorium this year. School staff discovered one of the lights
had leaked toxic liquid in the auditorium in August.
“The custodian did not follow procedures for reporting it or cleaning
it,” EPA employee John Gorman wrote in March to his colleagues. “They
are removing all of the fixtures in the auditorium tonight and will
collect a wipe sample from the floor.”
At P.S. 186 in Bensonhurst, there were five smoking ballasts recorded
from March to May, Gorman noted to his colleagues in another email.
In a letter sent to Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott in February
regarding more toxins at P.S. 50 in Staten Island, EPA regional
administrator Judith Enck called out the DOE for taking 10 days to alert
families of smoke emanating from fixtures.
“The students were not immediately removed from the classroom,” Enck
wrote. “I am concerned about the DOE’s response to the situation.”
And what was the DOE's response?
Why, a jive-ass p.r. statement from Marge Feinberg, of course!
“The DOE continues to work with EPA on improving protocols and
developing a citywide PCB management plan,” said spokeswoman Margie
Feinberg. “As the lighting replacement project progresses, DOE is
keeping EPA abreast of ongoing work.”
They don't care about the children in the public school system at all.
Seriously, not at all.
If they did, they would have sped up the removal of the PCB's from the light fixtures in all of the schools instead of fighting the case brought against them and trying to delay the removal as long as possible.
And if money was such a problem, then they could have dumped a few Common Core consultants or testing contracts and put that money to the PCB removal.
But Bloomberg would never do that because he doesn't care about these children (or the staff) at all.
Isn't it time that we call him and his Tweedies on their Children First. Always jive once and for all?
The one person with the ability to do this (Mulgrew) refuses to do so. Not that that should surprise anyone.
ReplyDeleteLet's add Weingarten to that problem.
DeleteRandi and Bloomberg are pals.
We had a guy come around checking the lights and fixtures. My school has had some "leaks" and a couple of hall fixtures replaced, but not those in classrooms. This inspector told me all the lights fixtues in my Pre-K classroom werw going to be changed this summer. Then a week later one of the custodiams came in (about three days befor the end of school) and said my room was being painted. Why, I asked when the room is fine. It had been painted about a year and a half ago (another story to be told). The custodian told me the guy "lied" and that the light fixtures were not going to be changed until next summer! So paint this year, first then change the fixtures NEXT year which means parts of the ceiling will have to be redone. The DOE works ass backwards and wastes big bucks in doing so!
ReplyDeleteAnd a Daily News op-ed piece asks what Bloomberg will do for an encore...
ReplyDeleteA. Rip working people off for his own benefit.
B. Continue to have journalist hacks write "flowery/no damage done" articles about him.
The Warren piece in the DN is embarrassing. Who knew James Warren, who hates Karen Lewis, had such a man crush on Bloomberg?
DeleteI'm going to go at that Warren piece later tonight.