Educators Enlist City Officials for Safe and Healthy Schools

New Haven Aldermanic Chambers was packed with teachers, students, staff and parents for a special public hearing of the Board of Alders Education Committee about overwhelming facilities problems in the schools.

New Haven Federation of Teachers president Leslie Blatteau presented a slide show deliniating extreme temperatures, water damage, mold, rodents and persistent odors due to malfunctioning air-conditioning and heating systems and active roof leaks.

“Public schools are the bedrock of democracy,” she said. “Both are under attack. We must not let the problems lead to privatization. We are here to call for solutions to the continued pattern of neglect.”

Blatteau itemized steps the teachers union has taken in search of solutions including using the grievance procedure, state air quality requirements, and enforcement of OSHA standards.

These “alarming” conditions impact morale and health she said, calling on the Alders to help find solutions to the unsafe working and learning conditions. “We have to all go to the state together for more resources to fund capital improvements,” she urged.

Thanking Blatteau, the Alders asked all teachers to stand, and then all students and staff, to warm applause.

For several hours a parade of students, teachers and parents came forward to testify about the state of their classrooms and schools. Testimonies backed up with photos delineated dirty, unsafe bathrooms, rooms with no locks on the doors, rooms with no ceiling tiles and buckets to catch water, rooms with 80 to 90 degree temperatures, and constantly returing mold poisoning the air.

As each student was called to speak, all students stood in witness as the testimonies were greeted with cheers

“Temporary repairs can't be long term solutions,” said student leader Brandon Dailey calling for safety and basic dignity. “Education is a pathway, schools should reflect that,” he said.

Several speakers emphasized the unjust racial and economic disparities in the richest state calling for state budgets that prioritize public education, and for Yale to pay a much larger contribution to the City of New Haven to make up for its tax exempt status.