Assemblyman
Marcos Crespo Calls on Governor to Amend School Technology Bonding
Proposal and Fund Monoxide Detector Installations in over 6,500 Schools
Statewide
Today,
Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo called on Governor Cuomo to take
affirmative action and provide school districts across New York State
with the funding needed to retrofit schools with carbon monoxide (CO)
detectors. "Last December, Governor Cuomo signed into law legislation I
authored which called on the State Education Department to study how to
fund the retrofitting of our schools with carbon monoxide (CO)
detectors. That study is due by the end of July of this year. However,
it is my strong belief that we can not wait for a report and then wait
longer to take action on this real and deadly threat to our children and
school staff," stated Crespo.
According
to Crespo, "Two weeks ago 30 children in Springfield, Minnesota had to
be taken to a hospital emergency room because of a carbon monoxide leak
in their school. This weekend the same poison gas killed a restaurant
manager and injured 27 others. On June 18, 2013, the same day the
Legislature passed my legislation (A.7433-A), an elementary school in Yonkers was evacuated due to a carbon monoxide leak. This past October, a Long Island elementary school needed to be evacuated as well due to the release of this poison."
The
leak was discovered by accident when the local fire department
responded to a natural gas leak in the school. "A potential horrible
tragedy was prevented. However, almost 3.3 million k-12 students in New
York attend school buildings without a monoxide detector. This should
shock every parent into pushing school officials and the State Education
Department in immediate action," stated Crespo.
"Just
a few weeks before Governor Cuomo signed Assembly Bill 7433-A into law,
another school in New York had to be evacuated due to a carbon monoxide
leak. It is clear to me that our children are in imminent danger and a
tragedy is on the horizon. That is why I introduced three separate bills
in 2013 on this issue.
One
bill required immediate funding for school districts for the
installation of carbon monoxide (CO) detectors (A3572). The other
required school districts to include the cost of such installation when
they bond for athletic field and building improvements (A7247). "Each
year dozens of school districts borrow money for such improvements.
Adding the relatively small cost for retrofitting their schools with
carbon monoxide detectors is a practical and common sense approach at a
time when school officials are concerned with 'unfunded mandates,'"
stated Crespo.
Carbon
monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas which can cause nausea,
headaches and dizziness. If it is allowed to build up in enclosed
spaces, it can be deadly. Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors represent an
inexpensive and effective way to protect against carbon monoxide
poisoning, especially in children, who unlike adults, have higher
respiratory rates until they reach adulthood.
Crespo
stated, "We have over 4,200 public schools and another 2,500 private
school buildings in New York State that were built prior to a 2007 law
that required all new schools to have carbon monoxide detectors
installed. We have been fortunate that a tragedy has not occurred
sooner." He added, "This winter's severe cold weather has required our
schools heating systems to be on overdrive and the potential for a
carbon monoxide leak has increased. It is clear we can no longer wait
for the report on funding options required by my legislation."
"I
urge the Governor to take advantage of the current budget negotiations
to address this critically important and life-impacting problem for our
children and families," Crespo asserted.
These
schools buildings house over 3 million school-age children daily during
every academic school year. All these schools operate on fossil fuels
which produce carbon monoxide (CO) as a byproduct of combustion.
According
to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), every year, some 500
Americans die from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and over 20,000 have
to be treated for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. "Immediate action is
needed to protect our children from such exposure while in school,"
declared Crespo. "Everyone recognizes that carbon monoxide kills if not
responded to immediately. The most serious characteristic of carbon
monoxide (CO) is that, unlike smoke or natural gas, it is virtually
undetectable, even when someone is awake and alert."
