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Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to eliminate lead from Philadelphia schools faces opposition
Toxic City is supported by grants from the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the University of Southern California Center for Health Journalism, and the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism.
Other stories in this series include:
Despite recent cleanups, Philadelphia schools still expose kids and teachers to asbestos
How the ‘Toxic City’ investigation has protected Philadelphia children from environmental perils
Solving the mystery of Room 106
New test: 10.7 million asbestos fibers on floor at Philadelphia elementary school
Danger: Learn at your own risk
In booming Philadelphia neighborhoods, lead-poisoned soil is resurfacing
State Sen. Hughes finds money to help fight Philly's lead paint scourge
Philly's shame: City ignores thousands of poisoned kids
The Inquirer’s ‘Toxic City’ series wins national investigative reporting award
Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to eliminate lead from Philadelphia schools faces opposition
JOSE F. MORENO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Inquirer
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Gov. Tom Wolf traveled to Taggart Elementary School in South Philadelphia to tout his proposed four-year, $4.5 billion Restore Pennsylvania initiative to fix crumbling schools, eliminate blight, repair storm damage, and expand high-speed internet across the state.
Wolf estimated it would cost $100 million to repair and remove lead paint and other perils in Philadelphia’s 200 aging district schools. He said he wants to fund the initiative with “a modest severance tax” on natural gas extraction. The Republican-led Assembly would have to approve such a tax, which historically has been a tough sell in Pennsylvania.
The governor said his push to find more money to fix Philadelphia schools came in response to The Inquirer’s 2018 “Toxic City: Sick Schools” investigation, which revealed how children got sick from environmental hazards, including lead paint, in their classrooms.
“When we go out to schools like this one that have problems with lead paint chips falling on the desks of students, when we get the question, ‘What are we going to do about it?’ — instead of saying, ‘There’s nothing I can do about it,’ we can say, ‘Here’s what we are going to do about it.’”
The newspaper’s investigation revealed the case of Dean Pagan, who was 6 when he ate lead paint chips that fell on his desk in his first-grade classroom at Watson Comly Elementary in Northeast Philadelphia. He was hospitalized with a blood-lead level nine times higher than the amount at which doctors worry about permanent brain damage.
To uncover health hazards, reporters enlisted staffers at 19 of the district’s most rundown elementary schools to conduct scientific tests for toxins. Tests revealed lead dust, at hazardous levels, on windowsills, floors, and shelves in classrooms.
In response, Wolf directed $15.7 million last June for emergency cleanup to repair lead paint and other hazards in more than 40 schools, a move to safeguard 29,000 children. Of that, $7.6 million came from a state grant, with the rest from the Philadelphia School District’s capital budget.