SCRANTON, Pa. — Northeast Intermediate has been closed for nearly a month but on Thursday we learned the school board hopes to announce as early as next week when the school can finally reopen.
In the meantime, the school board is busy gathering parents to form an environmental task force.
After weeks of public outcry and mounting tensions between the Scranton School District and concerned parents, the two groups are going to begin working together.
The Scranton School Board announced this week it's forming a special environmental task force to deal with asbestos concerns that shuttered Northeast Intermediate School about a month ago. That task force will include parents who will act as the go-between for the environmental firm hired to do the asbestos testing and fellow Northeast parents.
"From people with whom they are familiar, with whom they have trust, they have relationships, I think will be incredibly valuable in dispelling any notion of another scenario afoot here, you know, a greater scheme at play," said school board president Katie Gilmartin.
Four parents will be chosen -- one each to represent the elementary, middle, and high school levels, and a fourth as an alternate.
The committee will also include representatives from the district, board, and teachers' unions.
"I think it's great because then the parents know what's going on and can relay that to other parents in the district and get it done to their satisfaction and know what's going on instead of relying on just hearsay," Amber Lewis said.
"The ideal candidate is someone with some technical skillset, knowledge of environmental issues, public safety, public health, someone with a construction background."
The most recent update on the conditions in Northeast Intermediate from Cocciardi and Associates, the environmental specialists hired to do the testing, came this past Monday. The firm recommends the school remain closed for now.
The school board is hopeful that could change soon.
Nearly 900 displaced students have been attending classes at the district's other two intermediate schools.
"Things are tight. It's not something that can go on and on and on without an end date in sight," Gilmartin said.
Parents can still apply to be a part of the task force by emailing a letter of interest to the board secretary.
The board will announce the members of the committee at its monthly meeting on Monday. The board could give parents and students a timeline as to when Northeast Intermediate will reopen at that meeting.