Protest over school asbestos
A West Auckland school has decided to proceed with asbestos removal during the school term amid parent protest and says it is more risky left than removed.
Contractors at Hobsonville School uncovered soil containing asbestos when construction of a new school drop-off zone started in November 2016. The board of trustees began making plans in January to have the material removed, and work is scheduled this week.
However, chairperson Lance Norman said about 40 families out of the 420 at the school do not agree with the proposal to remove it now, and want the school to wait until the April holidays.
On March 16, the school sent out letters to parents which included the board’s review of the decision and a written explanation from Green Way Limited, the contractor engaged to carry out the removal.
Green Way Limited director Sebastian Jonsson said all material containing asbestos, to date, came from a broken cement storm water pipe.
While currently fenced off and covered with a grass cap and tarpaulin, Norman said the longer it is left the more risky it is as the contaminated dirt had already been dug. He cited risks such as children without supervision climbing the fence, as well as disturbance by small animals such as rats or rabbits.
A parent with two children at the school, who did not want to be named, said a preferred outcome was to at least begin during holiday time in April, on the premise that the school could be shut for an extra week if there were problems with removal. The parent said they ‘didn’t have a clue’ about the removal until first notified by the school on February 10.
‘‘It’s such an awful, awful situation for everybody. For the school, you know, they’re trying to do their best. The parents, we’re not sure what’s best for our kids,’’ they said.
The concerned parent said they knew of about five families who were planning to take their kids out of school during the removal.
A petition, that now had 200 signatures, was launched on Change.org on to try to delay the works and a meeting was held on March 15, which 15 parents attended. June is the next holiday period, but Norman says they do not want to wait that long.