PCUE Celebrates April 28, National Day of Healthy Schools

April 28 is National Day of Healthy Schools. PCUE will join many other cities across the state and the country to educate the public about the urgency of assuring safe water and air conditions in schools and to urge public school officials to improve health and environmental safety of our schools.

PCUE leaders and organizers will set up tables in four Jersey City neighborhoods (Greenville, Heights, Downtown, and Journal Square), distribute information, and provide giveaways to children.

On April 19th, PCUE initiated a postcard campaign to Charles Epps, Schools Superintendent, urging him to safeguard our children's health and well-being in schools. On the National Day of Healthy Schools, PCUE will ask parents and Jersey City residents to participate in our postcard campaign.

If you you cannot sign our postcard, you can call Charles Epps at his office: 201-915-6210.

Please tell him to notify parents when the remaining 39 schools will be tested for lead in the drinking water and ask when he plans to tell parents about the results of the test.

Joursey Journal: Pressure to clean site, build school

Pressure to clean site, build school

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

By KEN THORBOURNE

JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Three Hudson County citizens groups asked Gov. Jon Corzine yesterday to light a fire under a long-delayed chromium cleanup job that they say is holding up building a new public school in Jersey City.

The site in question is at the corner of Ocean and Cator avenues in Greenville. The state has plans - that are also stalled due to a lack of funding - to build a new School 20 on the land.

To read the full text please click on the link below:
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1208931920118440.xml&coll=3

Press Release: Clean Up the Chromiun Site for the New School 20

For Immediate Release

April 22, 2008

Jersey City Groups Call on Governor to Break State Logjam on New School

DEP Inaction on Chromium Blocks Badly-Needed New Elementary School

Three Hudson County citizens’ groups asked Governor Corzine today to end years of delay by the state Department of Environmental Protection on a toxic-waste cleanup at a site owned by another state agency, the Schools Development Authority. The Jersey City site has for several years been slated as the new site for Public School 20, but the project remains stalled while DEP grants the corporation responsible for the pollution one extension after another.

The three groups – the Interfaith Community Organization, Parents and Communities United for Education, and the PS 20 Parents’ Council – sent Governor Corzine a letter today asking him to act swiftly to get the cleanup done, and to ensure that the cleanup is permanent and fully protective of public health. The groups pointed to a 1993 cleanup agreement for the site that remains unenforced.

“This project is absolutely vital for the people of Jersey City, especially children and residents of Greenville neighborhood that has yet to see a new school construction in their community,” said PCUE parent leader Louella McFadden. “We can’t afford to wait another year while DEP does nothing.” PCUE is currently engaged in a campaign to improve health and environmental safety of Jersey City public schools.

The site is located on Ocean Avenue, at the corner of Cator Avenue, in the Greenville section of Jersey City, and is planned as the future home of PS 20, a successful but overcrowded school currently operating in an aging building nearby.

“The Greenville section is blessed to have Public School 20, which is one of the real success stories in the Jersey City public schools,” said Mr. Fletcher Walker who is the president of the PTA at school 20. “But we need an adequate building.” The school’s overcrowded classrooms are currently supplemented by adjacent trailers. Mr. Walker has one Grandchild attending the school.

The state’s Schools Development Authority acquired the site in 2004, and with the input of the PS 20 community and neighbors, developed a plan for the new facility. Jersey City school officials consider the PS 20 project a top priority. The SDA’s efforts have been stymied, however, by DEP’s stalled progress in compelling Honeywell International to clean the site.

The site is known by DEP as Chromium Site #155 – one of more than 200 known locations in Hudson County where chemical companies dumped highly toxic waste generated by chromite ore processing at local plants. The residue from this processing contains hexavalent chromium, one of the most potent known carcinogens. In the 1950s or 1960s, an old building foundation at the site was filled in with chromite ore residue. Levels of hexavalent chromium measured at the site are more than 100 times the levels considered safe by the DEP (20 parts per million). The waste is concentrated in the first four feet of soil, and extends up to 14 feet below grade on some parts of the site.

The Interfaith Community Organization, the local citizens’ group that has successfully pushed for chromium cleanups in the county since 1989, recently reviewed some of DEP’s records related to the site.

“We were concerned about the delays at the site,” said Rev. Geoff Curtiss, ICO co-chairperson. “And we were especially concerned by the possibility that DEP might allow Honeywell to cap the site and walk away without a real cleanup, and that the Schools Development Corporation would then proceed with a school construction project on top of a capped chromium site. The SDA has a history of mistakes like this, that result in jeopardizing the health of children.”

Tom McKee, a retired DEP official who led DEP’s chromium cleanup efforts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, reviewed documents related to the site on behalf of ICO.
“What we found in the files surprised us,” said Mr. McKee. “The SDA has apparently pushed DEP for several years, quite aggressively, to require Honeywell to excavate and remove the chromium waste from the site. The DEP case managers have agreed. The problem has been the lack of will of the political leadership of DEP.”

“We commend Scott Weiner of the Schools Development Authority for recognizing that you can’t safely build a public school on a capped chromium site,” site Rev. Curtiss. “The problem is the same one ICO has confronted for years – the failure of DEP leadership to require polluters to clean up their toxic waste.”

Mr. McKee, who was directly involved in DEP’s efforts to negotiate cleanup agreements with Honeywell and two other chromium-producting companies, said the DEP has all the enforcement tools it needs to get a timely and protective cleanup done.

“A lot of work and taxpayer dollars were spent forging the cleanup agreement with Honeywell in 1993,” McKee said. “Fifteen years later, the terms of that agreement have still not been enforced – at this site and many others. Honeywell’s lobbyists have been able to tie the hands of DEP for decades while urgent cleanups go undone.”

The groups called on Governor Corzine to get the cleanup done within one year. Rev. Curtiss recalled the cleanup of Metro Field in Jersey City, done by Honeywell in 1993, under pressure from the state, ICO and media scrutiny. “The Metro Field cleanup took a few months, and Honeywell got the job done in time for the next Little League season,” Curtiss said. “We’re asking for the same sense of urgency from the Governor for this cleanup.”

CONTACTS:

Louella McFadden, Parents and Communities United for Education, 201-780-1933 or 201-918-2918

Fletcher Walker, PTA President, 201-432-1808 and cell 201-344-5768

Rev. Geoff Curtiss, Interfaith Community Organization, 201-792-3563

Tom McKee, ICO consultant & former DEP official, 856-506-0625

Letter To Governor Corzine Regarding to the New Site for School 20

April 22, 2008

Governor Corzine

Office of the Governor
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
609-292-6000

Dear Governor Corzine:

We are writing to ask you to resolve a dispute between two state entities that has delayed – and might derail – the construction of a desperately needed new school in the Greenville neighborhood of Jersey City.

Greenville is a predominantly African-American and Hispanic neighborhood, with thousands of low- and moderate-income working families who struggle to find safe, decent public schools for their children. They are fortunate to have one of the city’s more successful schools in the neighborhood, Public School 20. But the school is located in a small, aging building, with overcrowded classrooms supplemented by adjacent “temporary” trailers.

More than a decade ago, school officials and community leaders identified an ideal vacant site for a new facility for PS 20, at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Cator Avenue. The state’s Schools Development Authority acquired the site, and with the input of the PS 20 community, developed a first-rate plan for a modern facility. This proposed new school would be the first SDA construction project in the Greenville section. The vision for this school is embraced by school officials, parents, neighbors and adjacent property owners. This project would help revitalize and anchor a long-neglected area, and is a top priority of Jersey City school officials. By all measures, it would appear to be exactly the kind of project for which the state created the SDA.

There is one obstacle, however. The property contains high levels of toxic waste which the state Department of Environmental Protection has failed to get cleaned up, despite nearly two decades of agency attention. The waste is hexavalent chromium, one of the worst known carcinogens, and is present at more than 100 times safe levels. Fortunately, the state long ago identified the party responsible for the contamination as Honeywell International – a company with the ability to pay for the cleanup. And, under the terms of the cleanup agreement negotiated in 1993, Honeywell has a clear obligation to conduct the cleanup; DEP, under this agreement, has the clear authority to set deadlines, standards and methods for the cleanup. Indeed, under the 1993 agreement, the cleanup should have been completed more than a decade ago.

Instead, as has been the case in so many other similar sites, DEP has failed to carry out its mission of protecting public health and the environment, even where the most difficult part of the work – winning a hard-fought cleanup agreement – has been done.

We recently reviewed some of DEP’s files on this case, to try to find out the status of the cleanup and the reason for the long delays. What we found was surprising. We had read about the SDA’s previous failures to ensure that some contaminated sites in urban areas were permanently and adequately cleaned up prior to school construction, and we feared that SDA might have taken a similarly sloppy approach here. We also feared that SDA might have been too willing to use taxpayer dollars to pay for a cleanup that should be fully financed by Honeywell.

Instead, the files show that SDA is taking its mission seriously, at least at this site. For several years, SDA has been asking DEP to enforce the 1993 agreement with Honeywell and to require a timely and permanent cleanup of the site, so that construction can proceed. And, at least as indicated by the correspondence we reviewed, SDA is insisting that the polluter pay 100% of cleanup costs. We commend Mr. Scott Weiner, the Chief Executive Officer of SDA, and Mr. Thomas Ahern, who has been leading SDA’s efforts on this project.

The problem is that DEP has failed to insist, from the outset, that Honeywell conduct a permanent and fully protective cleanup. Until SDA objected, DEP appeared willing to let Honeywell consider an untested experimental cleanup method at this site, rather than excavation and removal of hexavalent chromium. (We agree with the SDA on this: while we strongly support experimentation to develop alternative cleanup remedies, a public elementary school is not the place to start.) Over strenuous objections from SDA, DEP has granted Honeywell one extension after another.

While SDA appears to have learned from its well-publicized failures, DEP seems intent on repeating its mistakes over and over again.

The result of DEP’s dysfunction has been that schoolchildren in the Greenville neighborhood remain overcrowded in PS 20, or forced to attend substandard schools elsewhere. A prime parcel in the heart of the neighborhood remains toxic, and the chromium waste there continues to leach into groundwater and to make its way to surfaces, where it jeopardizes the health of those who live and work nearby. Neighbors of the site have never been informed by the DEP or state Department of Health that the vacant site contains hexavalent chromium; many of them heard of this for the first time when members of the Interfaith Community Organization knocked on their doors.

We ask that you act on behalf of the children and families of Jersey City, and insist that DEP immediately order Honeywell to excavate and remove all chromium-contaminated soil from the new PS 20 property. The project should be completed within one year. (We point you to Honeywell’s 1993 cleanup of Metro Field in Jersey City as a model. This site was cleaned up in a matter of months, under state oversight and media scrutiny, in time for the opening day of Little League baseball. Certainly the prospect of breaking ground for a new public school should carry the same sense of urgency.)

Our organizations plan to gather, along with members of the PS 20 community, on May 21. We would appreciate a response by that time.

Sincerely,

Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE)

Interfaith Community Organization (ICO)

PS 20 Parents’ Council

PCUE at Earth Day Fair 2008: Healthy Schools and Healthy Planet

Healthy Schools and Healthy Planet

On April 19, 2008 PCUE members and friends spread the word about health and safety hazards in Jersey City public schools at the Hudson County Improvement Authority's 2008 Earth Day Fair. Over 100 Jersey City parents, grandparents, teachers, and concerned citizens wrote postcards to Superintendent Dr. Charles Epps demanding safe and healthy schools for our children. PCUE spoke with hundreds of parents about health and safety hazards in our schools and shared PCUE's four-point proposal for reform. Additionally, PCUE distributed flyers about Jersey City Parent Rights, the Special Education system, and SEOC membership. See some of the pictures below.

Please write a postcard to Dr. Epps and tell him that you care about Jersey City children having healthy schools. You can send your postcard to:

Dr. Epps

Jersey City Board Of Education
346 Claremont Avenue
Jersey City NJ, 07305

Pictures from PCUE Participation at Earth Day 2008

PCUE Demonstrates at School Board Meeting

Jersey City Parents and Communities Demand Healthy Schools

By PCUE member, Jennifer Fasulo
April, 19, 2008

Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE) the most exciting new development in Jersey City citizen action, pulled off an impressive demonstration on Thursday, April 17. About 60 parents, children and communities members showed up to the Jersey City School Board meeting, wearing stickers and carrying signs about their discontent with the city’s slow action on the toxic conditions in JC public schools. Signs in English and Spanish read: Get the Lead Out! Health and Safety Report Card Now! And “Clean water, Clean air, Better Education! Act Now, No more promises! See some of the beautiful photos below.

PCUE member Telissa Dowling addressed the school board during the open comment section and reiterated the group’s four-point proposal to improve health and safety conditions and ensure parent involvement and oversight. She also presented the board with a petition urging Superintendent Epps to adopt the four-point proposals that was signed by about 700 parents and JC residents, including parents from over 30 Jersey City Public Schools.

Even though the event was covered by the Jersey Journal, reporter Paul Koepp only wrote one sentence about our powerful protest. But we who were there know that the real action in the room was the wall of waving signs that filled the bleachers.

Many parents were appalled to learn that while Dr Epps drags his heels and delays taking concrete action to ensure the safety of Jersey City school children, his salary is being increased to the tune of $268,000!!!! As one parent pointed out, “How can he be earning this kind of money, while our children are suffering in the schools? It’s a disgrace!”

PCUE learned the strength of numbers on Thursday. We all felt good and strong taking a stand together. Now we must continue to press our demands until Dr. Epps, the school board and all JC officials know that PCUE means business!

It was great to participate in this action. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen. Special thanks to New Jersey Action 21 for bringing so many people out from the Heights!

Pictures: Parents and children Demand Healthy Schools

Pictures from PCUE Protest at the Board of Education Meeting on April 17, 2008

Press Release:PARENTS TELL BOARD: TIME FOR ACTION ON UNSAFE WATER AND AIR IN CITY SCHOOLS

Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE)

JC chapter of Statewide Education Organizing Committee (SEOC)

169-A Martin Luther King Drive, Jersey City, NJ 07305

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Telissa Dowling-201-209-1607

Loyda Goldston-973-204-4121

April 10,2008

PARENTS TELL BOARD: TIME FOR ACTION ON UNSAFE WATER AND AIR IN CITY SCHOOLS

On Thursday April 17, 2008, at the regular monthly meeting of the Jersey City Board of Education, Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE) will present over 600 signatures in support of its health and safety proposal to the members of the Board and Superintendent Dr. Charles Epps. This meeting will take place at school No. 11 on Bergen Ave. and Academy St. from 6 to 8pm. Groups of parents from all Jersey City public schools are among the people who have signed the petition. Concerns regarding school health and safety are common among parents as well as many teachers, school staff, and administrators. Recent revelations that high levels of lead were found by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in six Jersey City schools have sparked alarm because, to date, Jersey City Public Schools officials have not announced a timeline to test 39 remaining Jersey City school buildings.

Mrs. Edna William, a grandmother of two children in PS 34 said, “We are going to be at the BOE meeting to make a statement that we need immediate actions, not just promises.” She added, “School officials told us that they would issue report card and notify parents about testing the drinking water. But, as of yet, there are no specific commitments and no dates.”

Another parent, Zaida Oyola, with a child in school number 8, said, “Our children deserve the best. They need to get a great education as well as schools that are healthy. We are determined to safeguard our children’s well-being while they are at school.”

Problem affects thousands

During this academic year thousands of children in our public schools have been exposed to potential health and safety hazards due to unhealthy conditions in their schools. Mold problems caused the sudden shut-down of PS 15 for three weeks. In February, local media revealed high levels of lead in drinking water for six schools (11, 23, 31, 25, 6, 27, and 25), a health hazard that school officials were aware of for more than a year. There are 39 other school buildings that have not yet been tested for lead. Lead exposure in young children can impair children’s cognitive, social, and motor development.

Mold in pre-K trailer classrooms in school 16 is prompting school officials to consider moving students to PS 4, a move that would considerably overcrowd the school while forcing students to travel outside their neighborhood. Many Jersey City children suffer from asthma attacks triggered by their school environment.

PCUE's Proposal for Reform

PCUE has developed a proposal to address health and safety hazards in our public school and urges Dr. Epps and the Jersey City Board of Education to seriously consider and adopt the following four points:

1. Following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s communication guidelines, Jersey City District should immediately notify parents of its timeline for testing drinking water and let them know when the results will be available. It should also designate a contact person with the necessary authority to communicate with parents regarding lead issues and address their concerns.

2. Create a standing committee of the Board of Education that is exclusively responsible for health and environmental safety of our schools. Three parents should be a part of this committee.

3. Create an Indoor Air quality Team following EPA guidelines at the district level. This team should partly consist of parents.

4. Issue semi-annual health and safety report cards for each school to parents of children in Jersey City beginning in August 2008. The report card should be sent to parents via mail and posted on the District’s website.

PCUE is a grassroots organization of parents, grandparents, and concerned members of the community that is a chapter of the Statewide Education Organizing Committee of NJ. PCUE is committed to organize parents and all Jersey City communities to improve education for our children and create schools that are healthy and safe

A letter from PCUE Leaders to Dr. Epps

Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE)

Jersey City chapter of Statewide Education Organizing Committee (SEOC)

March 17, 2008

Dear Dr. Epps,

We would like to thank you for meeting with our leadership team on March 11, 2008. At the meeting, we presented you with our proposal to create schools that are free from health and environmental hazards. In this letter, we would like to recap the outcome of our meeting with you.

Our proposal and your response were as follows:

1. Communicate to parents and the community the results for testing drinking water and the plans for correcting any identified problems:

We asked that as part of its agreement with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the District provide full and clear information to parents about testing drinking water in schools. This communication would be based on EPA’s guideline of “3Ts” (Training, Testing, and Telling).

In response to our proposal, you stated that the EPA has issued a statement that the district is cooperating with EPA and that the testing of drinking water for all schools would be completed by the end of June. At the meeting we gave you the EPA’s guidelines, and from your statement we understand that your cooperation with EPA would include implementation of their guidelines.

2. Create a standing committee at the Board of Education that will be exclusively responsible for the health and safety of our schools:

We asked that the committee develop and create a comprehensive health and safety plan for our schools, monitor the implementation of the plan, and review the plan as needed. It would also oversee compliance with all NJ workplace and school health and safety laws. The committee would include three parents with voting rights.

You flatly rejected this proposal.

3. Create an Indoor Air Quality Team (IAQT) at the district level following Environmental Protection Agency’s suggested model:

The IAQ Team would include all interested parties including parents. This team would receive some training in air quality inspection. The team would plan and arrange walkthroughs for various schools, identify possible problems, and make recommendations to schools. A Health and Safety Coordinator would facilitate and coordinate the IAQ Team.

You said no to this proposal and added that your staff is already conducting indoor air quality inspections.

4. Establish and enforce the policy that parents have a right to know that the schools their children go to are free from health and environmental hazards:

We asked that Parents receive a regular health and safety report card for the schools their children go to, and it be posted on the district website. Additionally, it would be posted in a visible location in each school. Parents would receive immediate notification in case of any health hazards in their children’s school.

You agreed that you would issue a health and safety report card for each school to parents of children and would post them on the website. You did not give us a timeline as to how often and when the district would send out the first report card.

We want to take this opportunity to urge you to:

· Take the first step and immediately notify parents of children in JC public schools and the community of your timeline for a plan of action to test the drinking water in all schools and to correct any identified problems.

· Issue a school health and safety report card every six months beginning in August 2008.

· We would like to have a copy of the schedule for indoor air quality inspection that you reported your staff is conducting. We would like to see you notify parents about that.

· Reconsider your position in regard to Health and Safety Committee and an Indoor Air Quality Team, both of which include parent involvement.

We also would like to let you know that we were very disappointed to find out that no facility staff person came with you to the meeting although you knew we wanted to speak with you about the Facility Department and the health and safety of our schools.

We hope to receive your written response to our letter by the end of March 2008 so that there is no delay in ensuring the utmost safety of our children.

Sincerely,

EPA's Communication Guidelines with Parents About Testing Drinking Water in Schools

As part of its agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the JC school district has to provide full and clear information to parents about testing drinking water in schools. This communication is based on EPA’s guideline of “3Ts” (Training, Testing, and Telling).

The following communication ideas are listed in EPA’s booklet, 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools.

• The results and the plans for correcting any identified problems will be immediately communicated to parents and the community.

• Parents will be notified how they can obtain detailed information about each school.

• When corrective plans are being implemented, regular progress report will be available to parents and the community.

• If lead is identified in any school, parents, particularly parents of children age 6 or younger, will be directed to seek blood-lead level testing.

• Parents will be notified about the dangers of lead exposure.

• Parents will be assisted to increase awareness about lead exposure.

• One person will be designated to contact parents and be available to answer questions or address concerns expressed by parents.

• This information will be posted on the district’s website, communicated to parents through letters, and through media both in Spanish and English.

PRESS RELEASE: Parents Urge Epps to Address Unsafe School Conditions

For Immediate Release Contacts: Telissa Dowling 201-724-1408

March 18, 2008 Loyda Goldston 973-204-4121

Parents Urge Epps to Address Unsafe School Conditions

On Tuesday March 11, 2008, 14 leaders from Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE) met with Jersey City school district Superintendent Dr. Charles Epps to express their concern for children’s health while at school and urged him to adopt PCUE’s four-point proposal to make JC schools healthy and free from environmental hazards.

PCUE’s Four-Point Proposal

1. Follow EPA’s communication guidelines and notify parents and the community about the results for testing drinking water in all JC schools and the plans for correcting any identified problems.
2. Create a standing committee at the BOE that will be exclusively responsible for the health and safety of our schools.
3. Create an Indoor Air Quality Team (IAQT) at the district level following Environmental Protection Agency’s suggested model.
4. Establish and enforce the policy that parents have a right to know that the schools their children go to are free from health and environmental hazards.

Daniel Aguilar a parent of two children in school number 25 and 31, both of which have unhealthy levels of lead in their drinking water stated that “Dr. Epps told us that he would follow EPA’s communication guidelines with parents and the community about testing the drinking water in schools. I find that very encouraging, professional, and a sign of willingness to fix the problem. But, I would like him to notify parents and the community what is his timeline for testing and remedying any identified lead problems before the end of this school year.” Mr. Aguilar added “According to the press, the district was told by EPA, in September 2006, about high level of lead in drinking water in my children’s schools. Then, parents were not properly and timely informed. Now, I hope, as Dr. Epps said at the meeting, he would let us know what the district is planning to do – and when.”

Louella McFadden, a great grand parent of a child in school 38, said “I was happy to see that Dr. Epps met with us, but I was dismayed to see that he rejected our proposal to create a health and safety committee and Indoor Air Quality Team, both of which would include parents.”

Another parent, Loyda Goldston with three children in school 34 said “Dr. Epps agreed with our proposal to issue health and safety report cards for each school. PCUE wants to see this report card go to parents every six months starting in August 2008. There should be no delay when it comes to the health and well-being of our children”

Problem affects thousands

In Jersey City, a total 29,288 students (12.5% of Jersey City population), 2,900 teachers, and many other school staff spend an important part of their day in public schools across the city. During this academic year alone, for example, thousands of children in our public schools had unpleasant experiences because of unhealthy conditions in their schools. Mold problems caused the sudden shut-down of PS 15 for three weeks. The latest example was the high levels of lead in drinking water for six schools (11, 23, 31, 25, 6, 27, and 25), a health hazard that school officials were aware of for more than a year. Concerns regarding school health and safety are common among parents. This concern is shared by many teachers, school staff, and administrators.

Call for A Day of Awareness and Action

On April 28, National Day of Healthy Schools, PCUE will join many other cities across the state and the country in community events to educate the public about the urgency of assuring safe water and air conditions in schools and to urge public school officials to improve health and environmental safety of our schools.

PCUE leaders were among parents who successfully got the Board of Education to televise their monthly committee meetings in 2006. PCUE is a grassroots organization of parents, grand parents, and concerned members of the community that is a chapter of the Statewide Education Organizing Committee of NJ.