District to address Kensington High School asbestos concerns, relocation plans at community meeting

PHILADELPHIA - Kensington High School community members will meet on Tuesday night to voice their concerns about a last-minute plan to relocate students and staff to another school building in Northeast Philadelphia after asbestos concerns were uncovered during construction.

What we know:

The School District of Philadelphia will host an in-person meeting on Tuesday at Kensington CAPA from 5-7 p.m. to share more information and allow school community members to ask questions about the upcoming changes.

There will also be a virtual meeting via Zoom on Wednesday at the same time. The district will host two open houses at Kensington High School's new location at Austin Meehan Middle School on Friday and Saturday.

The backstory:

The abrupt plan to relocate Kensington High School students to the former Austin Meehan Middle School building in Mayfair was made after an asbestos inspector raised concerns about demolition work on the old HVAC system, prompting the district to immediately halt the project.

"In this case, a third-party contractor is suspected of improperly removing asbestos-containing material during demolition, which was being conducted in support of a school upgrade project," a district spokesperson said.

They added that the subcontractor accused of the improper work has been removed from the job and has no other work with the district.

Relocation plan concerns

Local perspective:

Kensington High School community members and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers have raised concerns about the relocation plans, which come days before students are set to return to classrooms.

"One of the things teachers like is stability," Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Arthur Steinberg said. "Up until last week they thought they'd be returning to their building, now they have to go into a new location, materials have to be brought over, set up rooms in a place they've never been before, and then welcome kids a week later."

Not only is the Austin Meehan Middle School building unfamiliar to students and staff, it has also been closed since 2022 and is an almost 10-mile drive away from Kensington High School. 

While students and staff are at Meehan, work on the HVAC system and additional maintenance repairs will continue at Kensington. The district will also continue removing asbestos materials to reduce future risk.

What's next:

The district says they're hopeful students can return to Kensington High School by January, but stressed that the building will not reopen for students and staff until it is cleaned and deemed safe.

Scheduling, transportation, and logistics information for the temporary relocation is expected to be announced ahead of back to school.

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