San Ysidro district faces lawsuit over pesticides
NBCsandiego.com reports that a former teacher and two parents are suing San Ysidro School District for illegally dousing areas near classrooms with pesticides. The lawsuit stems from a March 2011 incident when Josie Hamada, who taught elementary school for 19 years, found herself covered in “significant amounts of bluish liquid substance that had been sprayed or placed on or around bushes and other plants on the school grounds,” according to the lawsuit.
Hamada took her Beyer Elementary students to the school’s unique cherry tree grove to draw and write about the trees. The kids were sitting very close to the plants and on the ground. Hamada began pulling some weeds to help a student get situated in his chair for the exercise. She said she stood up to find her arms and hands covered in the blue substance that she said was a dangerous pesticide.
“I immediately yelled ‘Stop!’ to the children and asked the teacher’s aide to get the kids back in the classroom,” said Hamada. “As a teacher, my first responsibility is for my kids’ safety – that comes before anything else.” Hamada quickly washed off the chemicals and notified district officials, who said the site hadn’t been sprayed.
Parent Juan Cruz said his 6-year-old daughter Galilea was so sick the next day that she couldn’t even stand up from her bed, adding that he has plans to remove his two daughters from the district because of the incident. Another parent involved in the lawsuit claims her son has experienced ongoing health issues on days when he spent time outdoors at the Beyer School.
The district denied any wrongdoing. Superintendent Manuel Paul said he couldn’t speak to the incident specifically, citing ongoing litigation. He said the district meticulously follows all laws and procedures when dealing with any chemical. Assistant Superintendent Dena Whittington said, “We have posted a notice for every time we have sprayed on campus.”
Under the 2000 Healthy Schools Act, school districts are required to notify parents of pesticide exposure and post signs of sprayed areas so teachers can keep children away. Whittington said the district sent out around 5,000 notices to parents asking if they wanted to be individually notified before their school site was sprayed. Only three returned paperwork requesting additional notifications.
Source: NBCsandiego.com, July 15, 2012, Wendy Fry
