Hartford school officials have decided to tear down Clark Elementary School because of extensive PCB contamination. The district had planned on renovating the school, but after discovering the extent of the problem, that option has been taken off the table.
The district has spent about $750,000 over the last year trying to figure out just how badly Clark School is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. It's so bad that the $5 million budgeted for renovations was not enough. Now the district wants to tear down the '70s-era building and build a new one.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said the district made the right call.
"There's been a lot of work done to determine whether the building could be remediated effectively and the short answer is no, you really need to rebuild the school as new to make sure it's a safe environment," he said.
It's unclear how much the new school would cost, but other schools have cost in the tens of millions of dollars and have taken years to complete.
John Motley, chairman of the school building committee, said the construction project would be included in the district's wider facilities plan. He recommended the project be a priority for the district.
Enrollment at Clark dropped by nearly 100 students over the last year. The students have been attending other nearby public schools since Clark shut its doors in late 2014.
The current building was built in 1971, during a time when PCBs were used in many construction materials.
PCBs were discovered at Clark when the district tested for the toxic chemical prior to a renovation project. Even though PCBs have been banned from production since 1979, chemicals from the building leached into ceiling tiles that were less than six months old.
A WNPR investigation last year found that hundreds of Connecticut schools could be contaminated with PCBs, but many go untested.
Hartford has sued Monsanto and Monsanto spin-off companies, seeking compensation for the problems caused by PCBs.
