ACT NOW: Healthy Schools for Jersey City Children: PCUE Asks Dr. Epps for Lead Remediation Plan

Monday, October 6, 2008

PCUE Asks Dr. Epps for Lead Remediation Plan

Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE)

Jersey City chapter of Statewide Education Organizing Committee (SEOC)

169-A Martin Luther King Drive

Jersey City, NJ 07305

Office: 201-9182918 -- Email:pcue.info@seocnj.org

September 30, 2008

Dear Dr. Epps,

We are writing you today to first and foremost thank you for responding to our concerns and your work in ensuring that our public schools were tested for lead and also for your efforts in providing our children with water coolers in the schools.

On Sept.3, 2008, Mr. Roger Jones, your spokesperson, told the Jersey Journal that a remediation plan to permanently correct lead problem in drinking water would be ready within 30 days. The 30-day mark, (Oct. 3^rd) is fast approaching, and we are anxiously awaiting this plan/timeline. We, as the concerned parents of children in your district are requesting that a copy that of this remediation plan/timeline be sent to our office by Oct. 8^th when our members meet to review it. Your cooperation in this matter is much appreciated.

Sincerely

Louella McFadden, President of P.C.U.E.

CC:

All School Board Members

No comments:

Post a Comment

FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

THIS SCHOOL YEAR ALONE AS REPORTED BY THE MEDIA:
• School # 15: Closed down for three weeks because of mold problem in the gym. The school officials, for many months, were aware of water intrusion into the gym but took no immediate action to remedy the problem.
• School # 16: In October 2007, the trailer housing kindergarten children was shut down because of mold.
• Schools 11, 23, 31, 6, 35, and 27: In Jan. 2008, drinking water was shut off and bottled water was distributed among children. In Sept. 2006, EPA warned the district of high level of lead in the drinking water. There is another 39 school buildings that have not been tested.
• School 9: March 2003, mouse droppings were found in the school.

HEALTHY SCHOOL MATTERS:
• A healthy school not only contributes to the comfort, health, and well-being of students but also allows students to perform better academically.
• A total 29,288 students (12.5% of Jersey City population), 2,900 teachers, many other school staff spend an important part of their day in public schools across the city.
• Many schools in Jersey City were built decades ago with little regard for indoor air quality and environmental safety standards.
• Children are more vulnerable than adults to health hazards.
• A typical school has four times more occupants than an office building of similar size.
• EPA ranks indoor air pollution among five health risk facing American.
• According to EPA, indoor air pollutant is 2 to 5 times or sometimes even 100 times more dangerous than outside air pollutant.

WHAT WE WANT:
1. Following the US Environmental Protection Agency’s communication guidelines, Jersey City District should immediately notify parents of its timeline for testing drinking water in all schools and correcting any identified lead problem.
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.

Please read our Call to Action: Health and Safety Proposal

ACT NOW: Healthy Schools for Jersey City Children

Monday, October 6, 2008

PCUE Asks Dr. Epps for Lead Remediation Plan

No comments:

JOIN US TO TAKE A STAND FOR HEALTHY AND SAFE SCHOOLS

Blog Archive

FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

RESOURCES: HEALTHY SCHOOLS MATTER

Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE)