Parents turn to city council for help with asbestos concern

Montclair, NJ - The newly elected Township Council, in their first meeting, were faced with a large group of concerned parents who called for an independent review of asbestos at Renaissance Middle School.

The parents claimed that the Board of Education had not adequately addressed their worries so they're requesting assistance from the council. They believe there is a chance that their children may have been exposed to the cancer-causing substance and that the board is not taking the issue seriously.

Mayor Jerry Fried promised the parents that he would ask the Board of Education for a report with the timeline of when asbestos was present in the school. The parents requested that the BOE submit the report within 30 days.

Fried said the city does not have jurisdiction over the school board and he is not trying to be an advocate for either party. He stressed that he is only trying to help reconnect the lines of communication between the board and parents.

The asbestos issue started in May when workers hired by the facility's owner, the Newark Archdiocese, broke into a plaster wall while in the process of installing a new fire door. Schools officials responded by performing a test to determine if asbestos had been released. The findings of the tests confirmed that asbestos inside the wall had been disturbed and asbestos was also found on the building's third floor. The school was closed for three days following the incident.

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