Trending
EAST PALESTINE -- East Palestine Schools Superintendent Chris Neifer used Monday's school board meeting to dispel rumors of a mass exodus of students in the wake of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment.
"I know there are a lot of rumors out there that 30 to 40 percent of kids have left the district, but that's just not the case," he said. "We've only had 11 families withdrawn."
Neifer told the board that 102 students remain enrolled in remote learning. Those numbers dropped from 113 as students continue to return to the campus. Neifer reported that the derailment has had little effect on attendance as attendance rates remain between 88 and 90 percent.
The board received an update on soil sampling, which Neifer said began Friday. Soil from all areas of the campus will be conducted and completed by the end of the week. The athletic fields have been cleaned and disinfected at the cost of Norfolk Southern, with only the bleachers left to be cleaned. Neifer also reported that donated Germ Solutions air purifiers (worth $100,000) have been placed in all rooms of the schools with the exception of the cafeteria and gym. Neifer said the district is working on obtaining different models for those bigger areas.
The district remains in talks with the railroad about establishing a long-term plan to support the schools and the district.
"We continue to communicate with Norfolk Southern and discuss the impact of what has happened here," Neifer said. "They are working on us with a plan to support our district over the long term to try to minimize the monetary and emotional hardships that have been caused by the incident. We continue to work through that process with the railroad."
Neifer said the district has chosen to focus on the positives, stating "some good stuff is coming out of what wasn't a good event." Those positives include the opportunity of the students to meet and interact with politicians and the Environmental Protection Agency working with the high school science club.
"One of the first things we said was that we would not allow our kids to be victims. We were going to turn this into one of the best education opportunities that we could," he said. "The visits were a great experience for our kids - the governor and the lieutenant governor and the federal EPA director and all these great people that our kids got to work. Our science department has been adopted by the EPA. They spent a lot of time here working at the high school. Our science club is actually doing a citizen's science experiment. They have gotten donations of equipment form the EPA and they are doing their own air, water and soil testing here on our campus."
The board also heard from attorney Grant MacKay, who said he has "been retained by several (district) staffers." MacKay, a former resident of East Palestine, expressed concern over the safety of the campus buildings following the derailment. He said those employees are experiencing symptoms of "toxic exposure" - headaches, rashes and bloody noses.
"My thought would be the school needs a proper cleaning and it's going to be expensive as hell," MacKay said. "That's something that Norfolk Southern should have to pay for - a good proper toxic cleaning. That's the best case scenario. Worst case scenario, I think that Norfolk Southern should pay for a brand new facility."
In personnel news, the board approved one- and two-year contracts, several supplemental contracts for both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years and volunteers. In business matters, the board approved an agreement with ACCESS for the 2023-24 year, several treasurer's items and donations totaling $5,550. Also, the board approved three field trips, open enrollment students for next year.
The meeting started out on a positive note with a spotlight on the elementary school. The first-grade class was represented by Beth Rutledge and several of her students, who demonstrated to the board their vast knowledge of insects. The board also heard about the success of the superhero-themed Family Literacy Night and the jump-a-thon. The jump-a-thon, held after the derailment, raised nearly $3,000 with Blake Allison being recognized as the top fundraiser at $430.70.
selverd@mojonews.com