The following was sent as a letter to SMMUSD Superintendent Sandra Lyon.
Thanks for this politically correct answer, but parents are neither confused nor incompetent; many of us have master’s degrees or PhDs and we are not lobbying for any interest group.
“Standards” are nice to have as a kind of guideline, but we all have a problem here, which will not disappear by pointing to such standards and agencies. Our kids don’t have the time and can’t risk their health to prove existing test standards wrong.
Imagine if your own kids had to return to school in four weeks, and have had various symptoms develop throughout the last two years of attending the schools. And you as parent now have to explain to them that this is perfectly fine, nothing to worry about, because some test protocols, agencies and the Superintendent say so.
We need a solution here—not a legal defense, no finger pointing, no political agendas and no blame games.
By writing these type of “calm down” round mails rather than offer quick, outstanding and out-of-the-box-solutions you make yourself a target. And we don’t want you as a target, we ask you to help and provide pragmatic solutions.
Please forget for a second your official helm and try to watch it from our end: three teachers have developed cancer, multiple others, including kids, have developed symptoms and the school’s director and his assistant have left one of the best schools in the country at the same time this summer, after Mr. Block had surgery … and independent test results provide additional facts showing the highest PCB concentration ever—7,000 times higher. Would you really trust standards and agencies with the life of your kids?
So with all due respect, we are not lobbying here: Please help us, we need your lead and can’t do it without you.
Heiko Schmidt