Parents in Belle Harbor are upset about the toxic environment in the special needs annex at PS 256. Apparently the mold and asbestos is having negative effects on their children, as well as those who worked at the school:
"He's been getting rashes on his face, fungus in his head, he's had cellulitis in his knees," said parent Katrina Inerhunwunwa. "He went from being a child with no asthma to being a child with active asthma," Gilmartin said. "I was having allergic reactions rashes. I was getting sties in my eye. I kept losing my voice," said Susan Lombardo, former school nurse.
Now sure, it's inconvenient to be sick all the time. But big picture issues, like opening new sports stadiums and charter schools, are seriously jeopardized when Mayor Mike needs to divert valuable tax dollars toward decent facilities for public schools. The CFE lawsuit brought hundreds of millions to improve conditions for kids and Tweed has repeatedly requested the option of using the money to do whatever the hell it likes.
Now, because these parents are worried about the health of their children, there may be one fewer charter school in the city. This is the price you have to pay when parents' voices are heard. That's why the folks at Tweed work assiduously to subvert their demands, particularly when they demand reasonable conditions for their kids, like class size reductions or avoidance of toxic waste sites.
Sure, you parents can humiliate the Mayor for his indifference to the welfare of your children. Sure, you can take him to court and make him look like he values stadiums and charters more than the schools your kids attend. But even if that is true, answer me this--how are charter moguls like Eva Moskowitz going to clear even a paltry half a mil per annum if folks like you keep getting in the way?
Thanks to Schoolgal
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