Philly schools knew of damaged asbestos at Building 21 for at least two years before closure

Though Building 21 closed last week because of damaged asbestos flagged during a routine inspection, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said the Philadelphia School District knew about the problem for two years or more — and did nothing about it.

District officials initially said that inspectors discovered the damaged asbestos in the auditorium and stairwells at the West Oak Lane high school during a routine, federally mandated inspection Feb. 28, and closed the school the next day. On Tuesday, Watlington told parents that district environmental services employees and outside consultants “found that the records indicate asbestos damage has existed in the auditorium since June 2021, and possibly longer.”

Parents learned the information in a virtual meeting Tuesday. Watlington also sent families a letter.

» READ MORE: A few dozen Building 21 students showed up to Strawberry Mansion for class, but there was no live instruction

“This lack of oversight can be attributed to the district’s historic underfunding that has led to the deterioration of our buildings and inadequate record-keeping,” Watlington wrote. “While this happened prior to my tenure, I am absolutely committed to continuing to improve the process and transparently communicating with our Building 21 community. I will investigate how this information was not immediately available and I will require accountability. In addition, I will align my budget recommendations to address the longstanding challenges.”

School board president Reginald Streater said the board takes safety and the district’s enormous environmental needs “with the utmost seriousness, care and concern.” Streater said in a statement that the board commits “to supporting Dr. Watlington and his team to take swift action and accountability measures to address these environmental issues in the here and now.”

The news that the district had known about the damaged asbestos angered parents and left staff — some of whom have worked in the building for years — reeling.

“We’re thinking about our mortality,” said Derrick Houck, a music and math teacher at the school. “We’re thinking about last Tuesday, when we were all together in the auditorium for a Black history month. It was one of the more joyful moments of the year, and now this.”

Houck and other teachers said they were especially frustrated that the district initially notified parents but not staff, that they had to find out secondhand that they had potentially been exposed to environmental hazards.

“There’s just anger and fear,” said Houck. “We’re obviously frustrated with the current district administration for keeping us out of the loop as all this news is revealed, and we’re wondering about [former Superintendent] William Hite, and [former chief operating officer] Reggie McNeal, who were in charge at the time. We’ve got no answers from anybody so far.”

Melvinia Hall, parent of a Building 21 senior, said the news “definitely upset me. If y’all knew for a couple of years, how is it that y’all didn’t say anything, and our kids were still going there, having assemblies?”

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan said it was “disgraceful” that district officials knew about damaged asbestos for at least two years and did nothing.

“I understand that staff, students, and parents may rightfully be experiencing anger and fear in response to learning about this hazard in what should be a sacred space of learning,” Jordan said in a statement. “Dr. Watlington is absolutely right that accountability in the wake of this egregious error is essential. It is imperative that the district work closely with all stakeholders ... to ensure that we all have accurate and timely information about what happened and how to move forward.”

The PFT president said he appreciated Watlington’s “acknowledgement that the situation is representative of the ongoing issues of data and records management and transparency as well as of the decades of disinvestment in our school facilities. These are issues that the PFT has been fighting for years.”

Philadelphia city officials had sought to have more oversight over environmental conditions inside city schools, establishing a panel that would determine standards and have say over whether district schools were safe enough to open. But the school board sued the city over that law earlier this year, saying it alone had the authority to determine whether schools could open. That case is still pending.

Watlington also told the school community Tuesday that the Pennsylvania Education Department approved Philadelphia’s request to transfer Building 21 students to virtual learning. Initially, the district ordered students and staff relocated to Strawberry Mansion High School, but families pushed back on that plan.

Mansion was open to Building 21 students Monday and Tuesday, but few showed up; most students completed assignments virtually.

“My staff is developing plans and you will receive additional information about this transition by the end of the week,” Watlington wrote. “As we prepare for the transition, students who do not feel safe traveling to Strawberry Mansion High School for in-person learning will continue to be marked as excused. Families will need to provide administration with an excusal demonstrating their concern. Students must still complete the classroom assignments.”

Houck said about 40 Building 21 students showed up at Mansion on Tuesday, up from 28 Monday. Some Building 21 students had reached out to their friends to dispel myths about Mansion.

Students from the two schools got together, too, on Tuesday, as a gesture of goodwill and common ground. Houck said it was a positive experience for both groups.

“They talked about everything high schoolers talk about,” Houck said. Building 21 students were fascinated that Mansion students got to keep their cell phones during the day; they compared notes about differences and similarities in things like their gyms and cafeterias.

But the decision to go virtual left some families relieved.

Hall, whose older son was killed in the neighborhood, did not feel comfortable sending her youngest to Mansion, and was prepared to pull him from Building 21 and enroll him in another school, perhaps a cyber charter.

Hearing that he wouldn’t have to go to Mansion, Hall said: “I was so happy.” And she was pleased that families showed up and leaders eventually listened.

“We did it,” said Hall.