Image Credit: Stuart Simmons / Google
The Tennessee Conservative [By David Seal] –
Storm clouds are brewing for a new lawsuit in Jefferson County concerning air and material quality in a school building that was built in the 1950s.
Like thousands of schools, municipal buildings, and institutional structures, certain chemicals and building materials were used decades ago that are now believed to be dangerous to human health.
Asbestos and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are among the many chemicals and compounds that are the subject of legal complaints around the nation. In some cases, large settlements have been reported.
In Jefferson County specifically, parents have been pushing school and local officials to remove students from Jefferson Elementary School (JES), a building that was constructed in Jefferson City in 1958. For years, parents and some local residents have been demanding that a new school be built and have now brought a law firm into the mix.
The Jefferson County School System contends that all its school buildings are safe based on their own evaluation, testing, and regulatory inspections. Certain parents are not convinced and continue their efforts to persuade school officials to remove students from JES and to build a new school.
Five days before JES parents met with attorneys in a public town hall meeting, the newly seated school board, in their first meeting with two new members, took action to plan and commence the process of removing students from Jefferson Elementary School, a plan unrelated to any legal action or threat of legal action.
According to a report published on September 12, 2024, by the Jefferson County Newspaper Standard-Banner, parents have contacted a law firm that specializes in suits against corporations for liability caused by chemicals and other environmental contaminants.
A town hall meeting was held on September 10, 2024, in which parents and other stakeholders met with attorneys to discuss legal action, the theory being a lawsuit against manufacturers of offending chemicals to recover damages for people who have worked in aging buildings and suffered harm as a result.
It is unclear if the local school district may face liability if a suit is filed or if they will be forced to close certain buildings. It is also unknown if school officials will cooperate with a private environmental analysis that has been recommended by the law firm that represents JES parents.
Several other things are also unclear and raise a few concerning questions for local officials statewide.
Will court orders be made to force school districts and municipal governments to submit to private environmental testing?
If dangerous levels of contaminants are found at Jefferson Elementary School, how many other schools in Jefferson County, and across the state, built in the same era, will be found to have problems?
How many aging schools, county and municipal buildings such as jails, office buildings, court houses, and libraries across the state of Tennessee will be found to have unsafe levels of environmental contamination?
If widespread legal action and environmental testing reveal unsafe levels of contaminants, will municipalities be forced to close buildings or undertake expensive remediation?
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and current Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Fact Check:
1)No motion to relocate students was passed, only a motion to create a plan to relocate students, this was probably done due to pressure from the packed house of parents that attended the meeting (100+)
2)a collation of nearly 800 concerned citizens has formed, a vast difference to “ a few parents”
3)A motion was passed 8 years ago to build a new school, obviously the school board has agreed there is a health and safety issue, the commission has failed to fund it
4)Parents know for a fact the school make there kids sick, several have been pulled from the school and are now illness free, also the fact of the 8 teachers who have had or currently have cancer was omitted from the article