This past Saturday, at the Port Baseball Coaches Strike Out Cancer Fundraiser, I was asked by some parents if I could find out if there was asbestos in the Schreiber boys’ locker room, where a piece of ceiling fell on April 8. I would have thought that any communication between the school district, students, parents, staff and the community would have clearly and transparently laid out the facts of the situation. While I have seen Principal Pernick’s initial letter to parents on April 11, I have not personally received any communication regarding this situation. I see nothing on the website of the district, board or Schreiber itself, nor in the local news.
So imagine my shock, when perusing the agenda for the Board of Education meeting, to see two contracts up for approval for Emergency Asbestos Abatement for the boys’ locker room? It’s nowhere mentioned in the agenda, and the contracts and notification are buried beginning on page 65.
Now I don’t wish to create any hysteria regarding this, I am hopeful that everything is safe and in order. But I do think it’s imperative that the district holds a meeting for students, parents, staff and community members to have a full understanding of what is going on. To ask questions, with advance notice, not the next day on the night of the New York Presidential Primary. Was any asbestos released? Should we be concerned that the boys were encouraged to bring their gym gear home? How secure is the abatement process?
The community has often been immediately informed when a suspect or suspicious person has been noticed or apprehended. That’s the way a situation like this should be handled as well. I find the lack of transparency here disconcerting and alarming. This is not the kind of information that should be concealed from the public.
Please set the record straight with the pertinent facts at once.
—Dave Sattinger
