Briarcliff Superintendent, Board President Respond to Fields Article

From the :

Dear Fellow Community Members,

By now, many of you have seen the Huffington Post article about the high school practice and softball fields and the incidences of cancer amongst some of our students. First and foremost, we know we speak for all the district’s administrators, teachers, staff and fellow board members when we say our collective thoughts and prayers are with all the families who have been struck by illness. There is nothing anyone can say to a parent who has lost a child or to the child and family who will forever wonder if the illness will return. We hope it provides some comfort to know that our entire community stands with them. 

With that said, there are some important facts in the story which we believe are worth reiterating:

• Over the past decade the fields have been tested multiple times by several reputable environmental firms. On each occasion the tests found that the fields DO NOT pose a public health risk;
• The incidences of cancer in our community are not unusual or abnormal, according to a pediatric cancer epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Center, as researched and reported in the article;
• After a comprehensive investigative process, the district is in the final stages of submitting a remediation plan to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Department of Health. These state agencies must review and approve the remediation plan before the remediation activities can be implemented and the fields can be returned to active use. Only the high school practice field and the softball field are closed and subject to the NYSDEC consent order. 

The information regarding the fields is available on the district website, on the left-hand side of our homepage under “FIELDS PRESENTATION (NEW).”

Again, let us reiterate that our thoughts are with all of those in the community who have been stricken by illness. The safety of our students is our district’s number one priority, and we will always take the proper steps to ensure that our facilities remain a safe environment for all.

Sal Maglietta                                         Neal Miller

Board of Education President,               Superintendent of Schools
on behalf of the
Briarcliff Manor Board of Education