EPA, N.Y. Department of Education Battle Over Costs To Clean Up Toxic Schools

How many teacher's salaries does it take to change a lightbulb?

According to the New York Department of Education, about 15,000.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the New York Department of Education are in a heated battle over funding the removal of PCB contaminated lighting ballasts and caulking from public schools. However, new legislation may help ease the burden of cost.

Natalie Ravitz, a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Education, told The Wall Street Journal that fixing the problem could cause thousands of teacher layoffs.

"We are working with the Obama administration to find solutions that do not impose a $1 billion unfunded mandate on city taxpayers that would force 15,000 teacher layoffs."

To ease tensions over cleanup costs, state representatives introduced the Safe Schools, Healthy Kids Act on Monday. Reps. Joesph Crowley (D-Bronx/Queens), Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Jose Serrano (D-South Bronx) formed the bill to create a federal grant program accessible to schools affected by PCBs. In a press release on his website, Rep. Nadler said that the issue needed prompt attention.

"The issue of PCB contamination in our schools is an urgent health matter that deserves a serious federal response."

PCB, a chemical compound known to cause birth defects and cancer, is found in a variety of materials used in construction prior to 1979. The EPA contends that up to 850 schools could qualify for inspection.

Over the summer, tests conducted in three sample public schools showed PCB leaking from cracked window caulking and lighting ballasts. The United Federation of Teachers and other community organizations participated in a press conference soon afterward to demand immediate action. Echoing their constituents' concerns, all 13 House members who represent New York City signed a letter to the EPA asking for immediate action.

The Department of Education maintains that the levels of PCB in their schools do not pose an immediate threat, and prefer to wait for the results of more tests before submitting schools to inspection. However, the EPA has announced school inspections to start as soon as January.

Judith Enck, an administrator for the EPA, told The New York Times the office was intent on remedying the toxic situation of city schools.

"The protection of public health dictates that measures be taken to reduce this exposure as quickly and completely as reasonably possible."

Although the Safe Schools, Healthy Kids Act would benefit schools across the country, Rep. Crowley told the NY Daily News that the financial battle in New York helped spur his decision to appeal to congress.

"While PCBs are found in schools across the country, the funding would really benefit New York City."

Comments

[rigslip]

10:38 PM on 12/26/2010

Why is that taxpayers are being asked to pay for PCB clean up? Whatever happened to holding corporations responsible for the toxins the force down our throats. I have five bucks that says the same company is involved in selling the replacement ballasts. More lies from government protecting big business.

[SwimUpstream]

09:21 AM on 12/25/2010

A federal grant program = more handouts with money borrowed from china. This has to stop or we'll end up like Greece

[heckmepitus]

08:59 AM on 12/25/2010

School Teachers are NOT Underpaid in America : In any free-market setting, no major profession will be perpetually underpaid, relative to output produced, or the profession simply will not attract any new entrants. Another clue is that private school teachers actually earn less than public school teachers. As a private school is a business that has to pay market wages to teachers, something is seriously amiss with public school teacher salaries. Additionally, public schools have no problem finding and hiring all the teachers they need.

An average public school teacher earns about $54,000 a year, but this is for 9 months of work. Thus, they earn about $6000 per month. Most teachers have a BA degree in education, and some have an MA degree. A wage of $6000/month compares favorably to what people with similar education will earn in a corporate job. Furthermore, a public school teacher is shielded from economic conditions, and thus has higher job security than, say, engineers have during recessions.

So no, teachers are not underpaid, on a monthly or hourly basis, relative to professions that require a similar level of education.

[Bids Well]

12:45 PM on 12/25/2010

Finally a voice of reason.

[Gregor53]

09:45 PM on 12/29/2010

Torture numbers long enough, they will tell you whatever you want.

[TheOtherMosby]

11:18 PM on 12/26/2010

"An average public school teacher earns about $54,000 a year."

Source, please? Saying it on the internets doesn't make it true. You also neglected to include in-service training and on-going professional development done during the summer. Additionally, most teachers work overtime during the school year to grade papers and plan lessons.

[Bids Well]

08:37 AM on 12/27/2010

MANY professions require ongoing training and professional development. Many licensed professionals are required to take continuing education at their own cost with no guaranteed pay raise. Education is the only area where you take a course you get a raise. I know a librarian who goes to "story telling" conventions in order to get more credits. Even r.e. agents, who have no salary only commission, are required to take continuing ed, at their own cost. And many people work overtime, unpaid. Any independent contractor or self employed person must spend a lot of their time drumming up business. Because a teacher's salary, benefits, and pension come from my taxes, though, I complain about the cost.

[heckmepitus]

08:56 AM on 12/25/2010

PCBs were banned in 1977 after researchers reported that laboratory animals fed high doses of PCBs had higher rates of liver cancer. Subsequent research failed to link PCBs with cancer in humans including data from workers with high-level, long-term exposures, alarmism over PCBs, fueled by environmental activists, persists. There is no reason to remove electrical components with PCBs and very little reason to do anything with this chalking other than properly maintain it and dispose of it over time.

[Elyriaohio]

07:30 AM on 12/25/2010

Does every new hazard finding have to be attached to a chicken-little mentality? Stop claiming every finding is an "emergency", it's not.

[Super Sarcastic]

07:46 AM on 12/25/2010

Oh , I see , you must referring to the hysteria surrounding the government take-over of our health-care system.

Or maybe the loss of America's status as a Judeo-Christian nation as a result of our electing a Muslim President.

You make a great point.

[Elyriaohio]

07:25 AM on 12/26/2010

My point has nothing to do with your Faux News delusions.

[zyxwvutsrqpo]

05:55 AM on 12/25/2010

All of these people knocking teachers... So off base.

(1)
Every class is a grab-bag of students. Sometimes you get a good class, sometimes you don't.

A teacher usually gets to work with a student for a few hours per day... a single hour if in high school.

Parents, for one reason or another, are unwilling to accept that their children's under-perf­ormance might not be the fault of teachers

(2)
Starting salary in most states is around $25000-30000/yea­­r. Sometimes less.
http://tea­cherportal­.com/teach­er-salarie­s-by-state

And contrary to popular belief, teachers often work up to 10-12hours­­/day. More if they have after school activities­­. They often have to work on weekends too. And if they have a problem student, they have to arrange to meet parents and meet the parent's schedule. And most parents are not happy to hear that Johny has been a bad boy. These are not pleasant encounters­.

That is why new teachers don't stick around. How much would you require for a job like this?”

(3)
The whole logic behind the "fire the bad teachers" argument is way off base.
It's akin to having a gangrenous finger and deciding to amputate the arm.

This school is performing poorly! Fire the teachers and cut the funding until they perform better!

Makes no sense.

[duhtruth]

09:35 AM on 12/25/2010

I think teachers ought to be paid 300K per year with overtime pay for any work over 6 hours per day. In addition they should be given a full month off during the school year for R&R. A 5% income tax should be imposed on all wage earners to pay for it. This is necessary because we are falling behind in math and science, which are needed desperately to run the McDonald's order and cash registers. Let's see 1 Big Mac, there is the picture, upper left. Change 57 cents. Hey Joe, 57 cents? One quarter and three dimes? What are quarters? These big ones??
The entire education system worked 60 years ago when I was in school. We graduated doctors, engineers, scientists, mathematicians, chemists etc etc. At that time the teachers were making less on an adjusted scale. The education system has went to hell in a handbasket and will not ever be reconstructed to address all students. Just the way it is! LOL!!!

[zyxwvutsrqpo]

10:29 AM on 12/25/2010

I agree that 300k is too much. However, 25k is not nearly enough.

We both agree that the education system is broken. How do you propose we fix it?

I have the feeling that it is not the teachers fault--for the reasons I stated. It is parents and a culture that does not respect the value of education--or teachers for that matter.

[seafarer00]

12:23 PM on 12/25/2010

"And contrary to popular belief, teachers often work up to 10-12hours­­­/day. More if they have after school activities­­­. They often have to work on weekends too"

You are actually incorrect in ths post. The BLS has done a study that disproves your post.

Teachers aged 50 and older who were employed full time worked more hours per week than teachers who were younger- 6.7 more hours than teachers in their thirties and 5.1 more hours than teachers in their twenties

Average working hours per week

Ages 20-29: 37 hours per week

Ages 30-39: 36 hours per week

Ages 40-49: 40 hours per week

Ages 50-59: 42 hours per week



http://www­.bls.gov/o­pub/mlr/20­08/03/art4­full.pdf

[zyxwvutsrqpo]

06:49 PM on 12/25/2010

You are neglecting to note all of the unclocked time. Teachers take their work home with them--grading papers, lesson prep. etc.

I am sure that the study you are looking also does not take into account after school activities (clubs and coaching) and attending school events on the weekend (games, etc.--the things good teachers do so that they can connect with their students better during "working hours").

...but I wouldn't know because the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells me: "Sorry, the page you're looking for can't be found"

[china6]

10:00 PM on 12/24/2010

If teachers are being laid off they can thank the Union, no one else is to blame.

[sdgrrl]

10:36 PM on 12/24/2010

China6- I don't know you at all and don't share 99% of your ideology, but I truly wish you wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you are surrounded by family and friends.

As a stranger- I hope my gift to you is that you don't see the world as black and white. All good or all evil. Unions are all bad. Conservatism is all perfect and Liberalism is all horrid. There is much gray in the world. Unions can be imperfect, too much liberalism can be the same as well as conservatism. We are always striving for a more perfect Union and that is Democracy. If it was all one way...it would not be a democracy- it would be a one party rule and that would be a scary world- a world this country has fought many battles against historically time and time again.

Many people think gray is a dull color, but I think it is the clearest- the most balanced.

I wish you a beautiful, safe Merry Christmas wherever you are.

[EmmaNYC]

08:02 AM on 12/25/2010

You must be deluded. Unions neither hire workers, nor lay them off. Unions protect people from unfair labor practices - nothing more, nothing less. If teachers are being laid off, they can blame the Dept. of Ed. and the mayor, who care more about data then they do about the health of our children, or the welfare of their employees.

[landofthefreeNOT]

09:57 PM on 12/24/2010

american teachers are some of the most incompetent in the world.

[AKvoter]

10:21 PM on 12/24/2010

No, actually students that don't want to learn and their parents that don't want to engage are the most incompetent in the world. You can lead a horse to water, but you just can't make him drink. Same for students. I don't know how many wonderful engaging lessons I've created, just to have little Johnny sit in the back and not participate because he thinks he's 'too cool' to be involved. When parents start expecting their kids to be involved, then we'll see a return to good results for all.

[denny8844]

06:35 AM on 12/25/2010

I have seen a huge cultural shift in the last 50 years. I have children 16 years difference in age and the peers from the oldest are far different from the peers of the youngest, And it is not to the good. Some of the horror stories from my teacher daughter and her contemporaries are very disturbing, The lack of discipline at home and taking the sides of children over teachers was unheard of when I went to school. Everything starts and ends at home

[Kimpeach]

10:38 PM on 12/24/2010

America don't value education like it once did...its time to turn off the tv and put a book in Johnny/Susie's hands instead!

[Bloodhound41]

08:30 PM on 12/24/2010

This may fall under the old axiom, "be careful what you wish for". Teachers union demanded something be done and their members may end up paying for it with lost jobs.

[EmmaNYC]

08:06 AM on 12/25/2010

Would it be better for the union to overlook this danger and allow children and adults to spend their time in an unsafe environment? If they did that, then, later, you would say that the union knew the danger and remained silent to protect jobs at the expense of the children's health.

Whatever the union does, people like you will find fault - and that's exactly why unions exist.

[Bloodhound41]

11:33 PM on 12/28/2010

Sorry you misunderstood my comment. I was simply making a tongue in cheek observation. I am only too well acquainted with the crap teachers put up with, not to mention the, in most cases, lousey pay. As for unions in general. I suggest you look at my comments and find an earlier one I made regarding unions. While I have no love for the corrupt, power grabbing, overreaching unions of the 60's and 70's, I do feel they played an important role in the growth of the middle class and are probably needed now more than ever. However, for many fields, the so called "global economy" may make them moot.

[insidious]

06:18 PM on 12/24/2010

PCB causes cancer and the school district and federal government is slow to react...and then people wonder why teachers have a higher incidence of cancer(s)...I think I see a class action lawsuit by teachers who are exposed to PCB.

[Jon Dorian]

09:33 PM on 12/24/2010

"teachers have a higher incidence of cancer(s)"???
Then why the students not have the same higher incidence?

[insidious]

09:34 PM on 12/24/2010

because students move out of the classroom...some teachers stay in the same room/school for years.

[insidious]

09:37 PM on 12/24/2010

Here's an example of some research on the topic:

http://www.calteachersstudy.org/study_data.html

[foxisms]

06:17 PM on 12/24/2010

How many teacher layoffs to change a light bulb?
At least 13.
1 to draw up a matrix for how to change it.
3 to design the curriculum and how to procede.
2 to act as teacher assistants to handle the kids while the bulb is changed.
3 to run interference for the level 1 kids.
1 to dispense the Ritalin and Adderall
1 to coordinate state testing
1 to hold the chair
1 to change the light bulb.

[AZreb]

09:17 AM on 12/25/2010

Good one - would fan you again if I could.

One thing people here are forgetting - food stamps were cut in order to save teachers' jobs. But even after the cut for food for needy families, over 55,000 teachers are still unemployed while more families go hungry.

What a conundrum - less food means kids go to school hungry and can't concentrate and learn. Sure, they can have breakfast and lunch at school but what about dinner or the weekends or long holiday breaks? Defeating the purpose of feeding the hungry and still leaving teachers unemployed - doesn't sound like a very good deal to me.

[sparkey]

05:56 PM on 12/24/2010

Imagine, 1 billion dollars to keep 15000 teachers in a job and we spend 1 trillion dollars a year keeping an illegal w@r going, year after year. Shows where our government's priorities are, doesn't it?

[foxisms]

06:23 PM on 12/24/2010

Sad but true.
And those ripples go all across the pond and touch so many things we're doing without in America today.
We are preoccupied with the manipulations of war and conquer to the point of neglecting the things that make life worth living.

[freedom4allau]

07:51 PM on 12/24/2010

Imagine if all the pork barrel spending that goes in to pieces of legislation were put to good use - like keeping teachers employed and say, oh, I don't know, contributing the economy at large.

Happy Christmas everyone - I'm outta here.

[mountainweb]

05:39 PM on 12/24/2010

Politically correct stupidity, the new national norm brought to you by the Environmental Protection Agency!

[billtmore]

05:32 PM on 12/24/2010

What about getting all those employees who are in the rubber room trained to do this cleanup job???
google rubber room and nyc teachers

[EmmaNYC]

08:08 AM on 12/25/2010

You're a bit out of date. The rubber room closed last year. All teachers were assigned back to their schools or to administrative offices.

[Homer Strump]

05:03 PM on 12/24/2010

They're not going to clean up anything and they'll probably still lay off teachers. Look at the slow progress on the long list of superfund cleanup sites. Contaminated schools are probably pretty low on the list of things they don't have enough money to do anything about.

[JuanCarlosysofia]

10:28 PM on 12/24/2010

you have to go thru the gumbare chief to get that cantract..n.y. is a hard union town.