School District of Philadelphia superintendent addresses asbestos concerns

PHILADELPHIA - School District of Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite spoke on the environmental safety work being done amid asbestos concerns in city schools.

“As you know, we have lots of old buildings, lots of old schools that need a lot of attention," Superintendent Hite said Wednesday.

One of those old buildings was McClure Elementary where it was closed, reopened, then closed again due to asbestos.

FOX 29 pressed the Interim Chief of Facilities Jim Creedon on if the method of testing is inadequate.

“McClure was the most troublesome spot and what happened there is we had a bad test come back in one area of the third floor. We want to be careful. We didn’t go back and redo any of the work. We went back and redid the testing process," he said.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers announced a plan to more quickly address asbestos issues.

“I gave examples of schools where asbestos has been reported and the district just doesn’t have the personnel so, therefore, the laborers have agreed that they will provide support," PFT President Jerry Jordan said.

RELATED COVERAGE:

Francis Hopkinson School students to relocate to nearby schools during environmental testing

Francis Hopkinson School remains closed over asbestos concerns

District officials urge parents to check the school’s progress by clicking here for updates.

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