Springfield Board of Education

August 27, 2001

Board reviews cell towers

            At their regular meeting on Monday, August 27, the Springfield Board of Education discussed the siting of cell towers on school property.

There are currently two cell towers on school property:  one at Silke Field and one at Thurston High School.  The power density transmitted by each of these is .0000026 mW/cm2 at a distance of 15 feet from the antennae (which are 80+ feet in the air).  This is well below the FCC approved standard of 1.0 mW/cm2 for uncontrolled exposure limits.  The district would expect similar results from any new cell towers erected.  Companies have approached the district with the prospect of siting towers at two additional locations, Agnes Stewart Middle School and Walterville Elementary School, however there are not any confirmed arrangements yet.

Board members also reviewed information provided by a group opposing the siting of cell towers on school property and materials from the Federal Communications Commission concerning health and safety in regard to cell towers.          

            The cell towers currently at Silke and THS were erected in 1999 and the district was paid $20,000 per tower.  The potential cell tower contracts mentioned above, could result in a substantially higher financial gain for the district, approximately $250,000 to $500,000 over the life of a contract.

            More information about cell tower transmissions may be found at the following internet sites:

World Health Organization:
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/faq/qanda_main.htm
Federal Communications Commission:
http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/siting/
Medical College of Wisconsin:
http://www.mcw.edu/gcrc/cop/cell-phone-health-FAQ/toc.html