‘They should be able to breathe clean air’: Pa. spends $75 million to fix lead, asbestos and mold in schools

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Efforts to keep Pennsylvania students safe from hazards like lead and asbestos are getting a boost with state money.

On Monday, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a new grant program that will distribute $75 million in state funds to school districts, charter schools and career and technical education centers for environmental remediation in school buildings.

“Our students should be able to drink from the water fountains clean water that isn’t going to make them sick,” Shapiro said at a site in Berks County, where grant money will be used to rebuild a flooded school. “They should be able to breathe clean air, free of mold and asbestos, and they should be in classrooms that are warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Our kids deserve to learn in world-class facilities that are safe and healthy.”

The grants cover activities including mold and asbestos remediation, improving water infrastructure in schools and installing treatment devices to reduce kids’ exposure to lead. Over 100 districts, schools and education centers throughout the state received money.

The School District of Philadelphia, where discoveries of damaged asbestos have shuttered schools and peeling lead paint has sickened children, got the maximum grant amount of over $7.8 million. It’ll offset just a small fraction of the district’s capital needs.

Superintendent Tony Watlington said the grant will help defray the costs of asbestos remediation, including at Frankford High School, which closed its doors in 2023 after damaged asbestos was found. The district is spending $20 million to repair the building so it can reopen.

“The School District of Philadelphia is pleased that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has recognized the ongoing need for additional resources to manage environmental conditions in District schools and the vital work needed to maintain healthy and welcoming learning spaces,” he said in a statement.

The district estimates it has around $7 billion in total capital needs. Late last month, students at 63 schools were sent home early during the first week of school because the buildings lack sufficient air conditioning.

“The conversation has always been about underfunded and under-resourced school districts,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Khalid Mumin.

Last year, a judge deemed Pennsylvania’s school funding system — based in large part on local property taxes — unconstitutional, because it deprives students in districts with low property values and incomes of the same opportunities and resources as students in places with high property values and incomes. This year’s state budget deal boosted education spending by over $1 billion.

Mumin said many districts have buildings that were once “beautiful” early in their lifespans, but that have since fallen into disrepair. He said districts across the state need financial help to replace leaky roofs and remove lead and asbestos.

“Sometimes it’s because the money that once funded those programs can no longer be extracted from low-income communities,” he said. “We are taking a big step forward, but we’re going to keep fighting.”

Antietam and Muhlenberg school districts also got the maximum grant amount. In Antietam, the money will help rebuild the Antietam Middle-Senior High School, which flooded last summer, outside the floodplain.

“Today we stand at this site, ready to turn the page from what was to what will be,” Antietam Superintendent Tim Matlack said during Monday’s announcement.

Other grants range from around $3,700 for the Hampton Township School District in Allegheny County to nearly $4.3 million for Penncrest School District in Crawford County.

In Philadelphia, two charter schools — Laboratory Charter School and West Oak Lane Charter School — also received grants.