Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Dear Ms. Teal and the Officers of the Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education

I am writing to you today to ask for your help with a very serious matter taking place in DeKalb County that may have a significant and possibly harmful impact upon one of our county's most vulnerable populations, the most severely mentally and physically disabled children.

These children attend school from K - 12, practically their entire childhood, at a special school that our school board has designated solely for the purpose of their education and fulfilling their special needs.  This school is called the Margaret Harris Comprehensive School and it is located at 1634 Knob Hill Dr. Atlanta, GA 30329.   For more information about them, you can view their website here:  http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/margaretharris/.

In May 2011, just prior to the Summer break and during a very busy time for students and parents, a notice was reportedly send home with children at 12 schools thoughout the county.  My child's school was one of them and I kept a copy of the flyer.  You can view it here:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/86772448/58801355-Official-Notice-by-T-Mobile-and-DeKalb-County-School-Board.

The school board posted a similar notice on its website, but obviously from the vauge wording, no one would have thought at the time that the meetings were about putting cell towers on school grounds.  It sounded like the school was simply being used as a community meeting space.  As you might expect, turnout at most meetings was low or non-existant.  Those who did show up in most cases were the principal, a few people from the school board and their staff, the T-mobile presenters and possibly one or two PTA officers who were encouraged to attend.

The Margaret Harris School is located in a residential neighborhood and they do not want the intrusion of a dangerous and ugly cell phone tower next to their homes and schools.  They have posted signs in many of their yards in protest and have started a website:  www.briarcliffheightscommunityactiongroup.org.  They are fighting on behalf of the community rights, but I'm concerned that they have not been able to reach any of the parents at the Margaret Harris School to warn them of the dangers.  Someone needs to let these people know in case the radiofrequency from a 150' cell tower with a 60' x 60' base with room for up to 3 additional carriers might be something their child cannot tolerate.

These children may be electro-sensitive, a recognized medical condition, or they may have lower immune systems, making them particularly suspectible to the dangers some say cell towers might pose to cellular DNA and biological material with continuos long-term exposure.  I urge you to refer to the website for The Center for Safer Wireless for more facts about this issue.

Of particular concern is any children who may have coclear implants.  My husband is a physical therapist and he has heard that some levels of RF can actually damage or permanently ruin these expensive devices, which are actual surgical implants to help the child hear.  It would be a great expense and trauma to have a child undergo surgery to corrrect something if the damage can be avoided.

We have tried out best to warn the school board, the county commissioners, the CEO of DeKalb County and even our state Representatives and Senators.  We are not getting anywhere.

From the date of application to the county, there is a federally guaranteed right to file an appeal that can result in full refund of attorneys fees.  In addition, we think these children can be represented by someone with a license to practice law pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act.  We are just not sure whom we should contact since we do not actually have a child or any contacts at the school.  We do not believe the principal or the PTA will be helpful as they may possibly be a part of the agreement that will result in some money coming to the school if the towers go up.  This is unconfirmed because as the contract is written, all money really goes right to the county school board.

We hope by passing this information to you, perhaps someone can look into the situation and make sure there are no violation of rights taking place here.  I became even more concerned recently when Crossroads newspaper reported that absolutely zero people were in attendance for the public meeting from Margaret Harris School.   I believe that is because they simply did not know anything about it, not because they were okay with it.

Thanks for your time. 

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