School board officials of the East Penn School District fell under fire Oct. 13 as residents continued to ask for more information on the illegal disposal of construction waste on Wescosville Elementary School grounds.

Citizens of East Penn are still wondering why the authorities were not contacted when it was discovered construction waste had been left on site and why the school board has decided not to find out who buried the waste in a clay-lined pit.

In particular, residents are asking why their tax dollars should have to bear the weight of someone else's mistake instead of making those individuals personally responsible for the cleanup which has already taken place.

Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder reported at the board meeting cleanup began Oct. 6 and concluded Oct. 9. Cleanup was performed by the contracted group ALM Abatement and supervised by a representative of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The superintendent, the facilities manager and Director of Student Services Tom Mirabella visited the site. Schilder reported no identifying information had been found among the debris, which included asbestos siding from residential construction.

The administration was assured the amount of waste present was close to what had been predicted, and therefore cost for its removal should be within the $18,435 proposed by ALM and TCI Environmental Services together for removal and testing.

Arlene Dabrow told the school board she wanted to know why the cost would have to be shouldered by the taxpayers, and why the school board would not do more to find out who should be held responsible. She waited for an answer, but was told public comment sessions are not interactive and the board made no other comment in response.

Schilder has stated previously the employees responsible for the matter are no longer employed by the school district.

Chris Donatelli pointed out if it is known these people no longer work for the district, then the administrators must know who they are by default.

Others are concerned about what might happen if those responsible for burying the waste material come back to the school district with medical problems at a later date and whether the taxpayers will have to pay for legal or medical costs.

John Donches took the opportunity to press a familiar issue concerning the bill list approved at every board meeting. Donches noted by approving the bill list without more detailed information, the board approved checks covering costs to bury the waste on school grounds last year. Donches says this is a perfect example of why more information should be provided on the precise purpose and accounting code for each check the district cuts.

Charles Rhoads asked the board why those responsible should not be pursued and made to pay. "Is white-collar crime permissible in this district? When will the cover-up end?" Rhoads asked.

In other business, the superintendent reported transportation in the district is now running normally with no more errors than would occur on a normal day. All students are being picked up as scheduled and at the appointed bus stops.

Now the focus has moved to developing and confirming an emergency bus plan for flooding and snow. Schilder says he is waiting on the bus company, STA, for the plan.

The administration is also looking closely at bus routes listed as being longer than 50 minutes for in-district students. He says there are "more than he is comfortable with" right now. However, it seems a real-time difference between the software used to generate routes and the actual bus time is revealing a disparity on the good side. The software is more conservative in its estimates than the time it actually takes to complete the route.

Schilder says the administration is going through each long route to confirm its real time as opposed to the software's time.