HARTFORD, Connecticut - Annie Fisher Multiple Intelligences Magnet School in Hartford will close temporarily next year so that the school department can deal with asbestos discovered at the school during renovations.

Hartford School Superintendent Steven Adamowski met with parents at the school to discuss future plans for the Fisher school and two others. Adamowski has faced criticism from parents of children at Fisher, Twain and Rawson elementary schools. Currently, school officials plan to close Fisher temporarily, and Twain permanently at the start of the school year.

The Fisher school has been undergoing renovations while classes continued. However, workers have discovered asbestos at the school. Because of the hazards of asbestos exposure, particularly in schools and with children, the school department has decided to close the school next year so that they can deal with the asbestos problem and complete renovations.

Parents at Fisher were upset by the choices that they have been offered, and by the fact that the school department will not guarantee that current students will have a place at the school when it reopens after the completion of renovations and asbestos removal.

Parents were also upset that the administrators did not consult them about a change in theme for the Fisher school, which now focuses on building seven areas of human intelligence. They had been told at a previous meeting that two different schools would occupy the renovated building when it reopens - a Montessori school and a school focused on science, technology, engineering and math.

Twain will close next year because of low enrollment. Parents of Fisher and Twain students will have the option of having children attend nearby Rawson elementary school. Rawson parents, however, are concerned that an influx of students from the two schools will overwhelm the school and result in an increase in class sizes.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen and air contaminant that is present in thousands of schools across the nation. The schools most likely to be affected are older schools, generally built before 1980, when asbestos was considered safe for use. It was banned for many industrial uses starting in 1978, but over 30,000 schools in the U.S. contain asbestos. The asbestos is becoming an issue for hundreds of school departments that are facing the need for repairs and renovations in older buildings. Removing and abating asbestos is expensive, time consuming and dangerous. It must be done by qualified and licensed contractors, and may create a health hazard if it is done incorrectly.

Inhaling asbestos fibers from damaged tiles, ceiling treatments, pipe insulation or other products that contain asbestos can cause mesothelioma decades after the exposure.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 5:10 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Connecticut. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.