A recent report by unions 32BJ and Local 94 International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) points out that leaks of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the overcrowding of schools are symptoms of a bigger problem in New York City’s public schools. The report, titled “Not Making the Grade,” suggests that inadequate investments in school facilities are the reason that public schools in the five boroughs are facing a crisis.
“New York City has cut its school maintenance budget by nearly $50 million over the last 10 years,” says the report.” The city now spends a mere 3 percent of its education budget on facilities, compared to 10 percent in some of the nation’s other large urban school systems. Research shows that children’s achievement in school, as well as their health, depends on school facilities providing clean and well-maintained environments conducive to learning.”
Secretary-Treasurer of 32BJ Hector Figueroa talked about the tolls the cuts have taken on public schools.
“The city’s cuts have forced our schools to slash the number of school cleaners, handypersons and engineers and to sharply reduce the supplies these workers need to keep schools safe, sanitary and running properly,” said Figueroa in a released statement. “Enough is enough. Our schools are struggling to try to maintain an environment where our children can learn.”
Inside the 12-page report, three reasons are provided for why the city’s failed investment in infrastructure is hurting public schools: PCBs, overcrowding and cuts in maintenance and operations. The report states that close to 70 percent of schools have light ballasts or caulk that likely contain PCBs, which the AmNews has previously reported is a banned toxin known to cause cancer and damage neurological and cognitive development in children.
The union also states that the remaining maintenance and operations workers—6,000 in total—haven’t received a raise in over five years.
“The city’s repeated cuts to facilities’ budgets has produced an unsustainable situation for our schools and the workers who keep them running every day,” said Local 94 IUOE President Kuba Brown. IUOE represents 1,000 firepersons and engineers in city schools. “If our city is serious about ensuring that our schools provide long-term sustainability for green school operations, in addition to providing the safe and sanitary environment children need, we must change course.”
Last week, parents, elected officials and advocacy groups held a rally and a news conference at I.S. 204 in the Long Island City section of Queens to protest what they felt was unequal treatment by the New York City Department of Education (DOE) over the handling of the PCB-contaminated light fixtures and the finding of additional leaks. DOE officials have said the whole process of clearing all schools of PCB-contaminated fixtures will take up to a decade.
Christina Giorgio of the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest believes that it doesn’t need to take that long.
“They’ve complained about the expense,” Giorgio told the AmNews. “The actual dollar amount, according to the DOE’s own testimony, is $323 million to do the citywide replacement, and $200.6 million of that is currently budgeted through 2014. That leaves $120 million for the city to come up with. If you look at the School Construction Authority’s capital budget, $120 million is not a lot of money.”
However, DOE spokesperson Marge Feinberg says the city’s doing everything it can to complete the task at hand.
“We are in the second year of our 10-year plan,” said Feinberg in an email to the AmNews. “Our plan to replace light fixtures in roughly 700 buildings is unprecedented compared to other cities, and PCBs are a nationwide issue. While some people think we should spend more and do this faster, we continue to believe this is an aggressive, environmentally responsible plan that will cause minimum disruption to student learning and generate significant energy savings for the city and taxpayers in the long run.”
