ST. LOUIS — The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are still working to assure a skeptical community that Jana Elementary School is safe. They held a public meeting Thursday night at the Florissant Municipal Court where parents' questions were answered one-on-one.
While the meeting was targeted at parents with students here at Jana, there was a different meeting happening at a different location at the same time -- a "Meet Your New Teacher" event for Jana students who are now being re-located to five different schools:
- Barrington Elementary
- Brown Elementary
- Coldwater Elementary
- McCurdy Elementary
- Walker Elementary
People concerned about contamination at the Coldwater Creek were able to sit down with officials from the USACE. Many wanted to know how the contamination is impacting now shuttered Jana Elementary.
"From a radiological standpoint, the school is safe,” said Col. Kevin Golinghorst.
Although leaders admit they are still working to clean up contamination in North St. Louis County, they said there are no alarming levels of radioactivity at the school. This finding contradicts an independent report by the Boston Chemical Data Corporation that said students are in danger.
“I don't know who to believe,” parent Nicole Sammons said. She said she's perplexed because after Thanksgiving, she must send her child to a brand-new school.
The Hazelwood School District (HSD) closed Jana out of an abundance of caution.
"My kids are in fourth grade so are we going to turn around and we move to a new school this year and next fall were right back at Jana and these kids are getting shuffled back and forth? she asked. "We don’t know.”
Thursday night, the USACE shared the presentation it shared at this week's school board meeting, which aligns with the findings of an independent study from a company the school district hired.
5 On Your Side asked the USACE about the conflicting report.
The Boston Chemical Data Corporation (BCD) said it used and x-ray analysis during its study. The USACE said it did not.
"We’re going to focus on our processes and our data and let that stand alone…we have great contractors and industry partners that we do work with. I won't comment on their procedures. We stand by the work that we do,” Col. Golinghorst said.
"My hope is now that this have come out more publicly and unfortunately brought to the attention of more people, then maybe things will move on a bit quicker to get rid of this waste,” State Rep. Gretchen Bangert said.
Many are wondering when Jana might re-open. Dr. Nettie Collins-Hart, who the HSD superintendent, has not spoken about this yet.
5 On Your Side sent requests to the district for an interview. A spokesperson said the district has no additional information to share at this time.
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