Philadelphia School District Fights Parent’s, Environmental Groups and City Over Who Determines Environmental Safety in Schools

The Philadelphia School District filed a lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia over a law passed last year that would create an independent oversight panel that would determine if a school building was safe to open.

The city’s managing director would take the determination of this panel to declare a building unsafe and operating under illegal environmental conditions.

The school district will argue in court that “the law could needlessly threaten the opening of many district school buildings at the start of the next school year, jeopardizing the health, safety, and welfare of our students, especially those who rely on our buildings for shelter and services.”

What is astounding about this case, and the reason for the law in the first place, is that the problem, tragically poor environmental conditions in Philadelphia schools, which include primarily asbestos dust, mold and respiratory contagion, has still not been noticeably dealt with.

The city and school district have received over a billion dollars from Washington to address these problems in the form of the 2021 American Rescue Plan law which provided $1.9 trillion to cities and states.   This sum represent less than half of the total federal expenditures made to address the Covid crisis and in total is more than the country spent on the effort to fight WWII in today’s dollars.

The school district did make a big deal last summer about installing some window air conditioners and purchasing portable air filtration units. Most students haven’t seen these improvements.

Concerning air quality and respiratory contagion, it appears the school district leadership is sold on the lowest common denominator and cheapest solution in workplace safety, and that’s forcing the inhabitants to wear face coverings. White House Advisor Dr. Jha very clearly highlights the folly of such schemes as he addresses Philadelphia’s health commissioner and reporters in the video interview below.

Dr. Jha:  “We are trying to really encourage people to use the resources they have and make those investment to improve ventilation and filtration”.