by Laura Glesby
Establish new mold and temperature standards for all New Haven Public School buildings. Create a public dashboard of the status of all school maintenance complaints. Assemble a fundraising plan to finance the needed repairs.
The Board of Alders Education Committee published a letter on Friday afternoon with those demands and others — urging the Board of Education to undertake 16 “high-priority” actions to improve school facilities within the next 30 to 60 days.
The letter marked the second time in six weeks that the aldermanic committee has sent out a press release on a Friday afternoon, raising the alarm about school conditions and calling on the school board to act with greater urgency and transparency.
Friday’s letter is signed by Committee Chair and Beaver Hills Alder Gary Hogan, Vice Chair and Fair Haven Alder Frank Redente, Jr., Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller, Downtown/East Rock Alder Christine Kim, Downtown/Yale Alder Elias Theodore, and Fair Haven Heights Alder Mildred Melendez.
In the letter, the alders called on the Board of Education to address ongoing concerns related to pest infestations, bathroom conditions, and non-operational doors and windows. They called on school leaders to monitor indoor air quality and distribute air purifiers to school buildings as necessary.
They also requested a systemic overhaul of how the district manages facilities concerns. In addition to the public dashboard and the fundraising plan, alders called on the Board of Education to outline a hierarchy of responsibility for facilities concerns and to set standard time periods for written responses and fixes to facilities concerns. They asked for “a restorative process for acknowledging the ongoing harm that school communities experience and develop protocols to repair and rebuild trust.”
They also weighed in on an ongoing dispute between the New Haven Federation of Teachers (NHFT) and the school district regarding the union’s vice president. This year, school administrators are requiring NHFT Vice President Jenny Graves to work as a teacher on a full-time basis, rather than releasing her from teaching duties as they had in previous years; NHFT has argued that this move was retaliatory to the union.
In their letter, the Education Committee alders sided with the teachers union, calling on the Board of Education to “return New Haven Federation of Teachers Vice President to full release and restore the Federation’s capacity to support facilities problem-solving.”
The Education Committee previously released a letter on Aug. 28, days before the start of school, calling on the city to closely inspect all school buildings.
Since that first letter, alders held an Education Committee hearing on facilities in late September, drawing hours of public testimony about dilapidated and sometimes hazardous school building conditions from students, teachers, parents and advocates.
In their latest letter, the alders cited that hearing as a source of concern. “District leadership brought no concrete plan of action,” the letter states. “In the absence of a specific plan and in an effort to repair ongoing harm, we respectfully request that you undertake the following high-priority action steps” within either 30 or 60 days, it continues, enumerating 16 different demands (outlined below).
Hogan, the committee chair, explained in a phone interview that the 30- to 60-day timeline is not a final deadline, and that alders don’t expect all of the actions to be completed within two months. The goal of the letter, Hogan said, is to outline a structure for the school district to address school facilities concerns with urgency and transparency.
“We’re trying to create strategies so we can all move together collectively,” he said. “The idea is, can you think about these responses and can you give us something to work on?”
“We called it out. We see the problem. Now, how do we fix it?” he added. “What’s our solution-based strategy now?”
Asked whether the Board of Alders has a role in passing legislation to accomplish some of the goals outlined in the letter, Hogan responded that that question is actively “under discussion.”
He said that the Education Committee is currently researching the legal basis and environmental groundwork for the body to regulate conditions in all city buildings, including school buildings — for example, a possible maximum interior temperature. “I don’t see that happening in 2026, but I definitely see us taking some angles in 2027,” Hogan said.
(Update 5:23 p.m.) In response to the letter’s publication on Friday afternoon, Superintendent Madeline Negrón wrote in a statement, “We all agree that New Haven’s students and staff deserve school facilities that fully support the work of teaching and learning.”
“Those who attended the Alders Education Committee’s September 29 workshop or who view the posted video,” she wrote, “will understand that we have reported extensively about the challenges we face with our school facilities and about the steps we are taking to establish in-house expertise to help frame our plan to address them. We also reported that we require substantial operating and capital resources to ensure the proper maintenance and repairs of these facilities.”
Negrón promised to “review the Education Committee’s new recommendations thoroughly and consult with the Board of Education about the best course of action,” adding, “We must all accept our collective responsibility to address the result of decades of underfunding of our school facilities.”
Meanwhile, city spokesperson Lenny Speiller re-issued a previous statement from Mayor Justin Elicker on school facilities.
“There is widespread agreement that our students and educators should have safe, healthy, high-quality school buildings and classroom environments that support teaching and learning and help our school communities thrive,” the mayor wrote. “There is also widespread agreement that our schools have been underfunded for decades and that underinvestment has created real challenges in New Haven Public Schools’ ability to maintain our aging school facilities and it’s resulted in unacceptable conditions in many of our schools.”
“While our school buildings are regularly inspected to ensure they meet code-required life-safety requirements, that’s a minimum standard — and that’s not what we want to provide our students and teachers,” wrote Elicker.
Elicker described a need for more staffing and resources to adequately address the volume of maintenance concerns.
While he cited improvements to the Wilbur Cross High School Athletic Complex and the Floyd Little Athletic Complex at Hillhouse High School, he wrote, “there is a lot more work to do and it’s going to require all of us working together to make that happen.”
Dereen Shirnekhi contributed reporting. See below for Friday’s Board of Alders Education Committee letter in full.
The Full Letter
Dear Dr. Yarborough, Mr. Wilcox, Dr. Joyner, Mayor Elicker, Ms. Downer, Mr. Juárez, Dr. Benitez, Mr. Aly, and Ms. McTiernan-Huge:
At a Board of Alders Education Committee workshop held on September 29, 2026, Alders heard nearly five hours of testimony from teachers, students, families, and community members regarding serious, persistent, and widespread school building health and safety concerns, regarding HVAC, leaks, mold, pests, doors and windows, temperature extremes, bathrooms, and electrical outlets. City of New Haven Health Department, Emergency Management, and Fire Department leadership confirmed the extent and severity of these problems.
You may view the proceedings on the Board of Alders YouTube page here. We thank Mr. Juárez and Dr. Joyner for attending, and Mr. Aly and Ms. McTiernan-Huge for participating.
District leadership brought no concrete plan of action. In the absence of a specific plan and in an effort to repair ongoing harm, we respectfully request that you undertake the following high-priority action steps within the next 30 days.
- School Facilities Dashboard
Publish a public, building-by-building dashboard covering HVAC, roof and water leaks, mold and moisture, pests, electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, and other health and safety issues. Include the date reported, status, corrective action, responsible department or contractor, and expected completion date. For HVAC, include: whether the system at each building is operational, somewhat operational, non-operational; specific details related to status; and filter change dates.
- Fundraising Plan
Provide a 12-month timeline for pursuit of CT Department of Administrative Services school construction grants and other funding opportunities to fund roof and HVAC repairs, along with identification of the staff lead and an experienced grant preparer. We note that DAS applications open monthly and errors in prior submissions led to rejected applications.
- Required Response and Correction Timelines
Establish written response and correction timelines based on hazard severity. Serious conditions such as water intrusion, suspected mold, ventilation failures, extreme temperatures, electrical hazards, sewage/plumbing failures, and significant pest infestations require expedited action.
- Mold and Moisture Remediation
Establish district standards and protocols for mold identification, reporting, and remediation. Correct the underlying moisture source before remediation is considered complete, including roof leaks, plumbing leaks, window intrusions, drainage problems, and HVAC condensation. Properly dry, clean, or remove damaged materials.
- Integrated Pest Management
Establish a districtwide integrated pest-management program that addresses inspection, exclusion, sanitation, water and food sources, treatment, documentation, and follow-up, rather than relying primarily on pesticide application. Disseminate pest control guidelines to all staff (e.g. regarding food in classrooms). Provide necessary pest management supplies, such as plastic bins to store food, to all staff who need them in order to adhere to the guidelines. Partner with the New Haven Health Department.
- Safe Doors and Windows
Repair broken doors (including handles, locks, and magnets), distribute working keys to all workers in their workspaces, and communicate best practices and protocols for doors and keys management. Repair broken windows and window locks that present safety hazards. Partner with the Chief Administrative Officer and designee(s).
- Temperature and Humidity Standards
Establish enforceable temperature and humidity standards with defined actions when conditions exceed acceptable ranges, including assessment, temporary controls, relocation when necessary, and repair. Partner with the New Haven Health Department.
- Bathrooms Management
Repair bathroom health and privacy concerns (including missing doors, locks, water faucets, and soap dispensers). Adopt Connecticut Department of Public Health guidelines for toileting facilities for school-age children in daycare settings. Partner with Chief Administrative Officer, New Haven Health Department, and designees.
- Protected Electrical Outlets
Repair exposed and unprotected electrical outlets. Partner with the Chief Administrative Officer and designee(s).
- Restore Established Past Practice
Return New Haven Federation of Teachers Vice President to full release and restore the Federation’s capacity to support facilities problem-solving.
We further request the following critical action steps within the next 60 days.
- Continuous Indoor Air Quality Monitoring
Provide CO₂, temperature, and relative-humidity monitoring in representative occupied spaces in every school. Establish investigation and action thresholds, data-retention requirements, and a written response protocol. Provide a summary of how NHPS utilizes the EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools protocols. Avoid relying solely on short-term environmental sampling.
- Portable HEPA Filtration
As an interim or supplemental control, distribute individual classroom air purifiers, in partnership with the UConn Indoor Air Quality Project, or other appropriately sized portable HEPA air cleaners. Air cleaners should not replace repairs to ventilation systems, water intrusion, mold, or other building deficiencies.
- Qualified Facilities Management
Require appropriate professional qualifications, certification, and demonstrated facilities-management expertise for personnel responsible for districtwide facilities planning, maintenance, and environmental health and safety (CFM, FMP, and/or FMC).
- Five-Year Facilities and Preventive-Maintenance Plan
Develop a five-year plan identifying needed repairs, preventive maintenance, capital projects, estimated costs, funding sources, priorities, and completion timelines, with regular public progress reports – created and stewarded by a professional with facilities management certification and demonstrating requirements to bring all buildings to a state of good repair and maintain this condition over time. This includes safe and functional working conditions for New Haven Public Schools tradespeople, with access to the space and equipment necessary to perform their work duties.
- Accountability Clarity
Provide an organizational chart showing responsibility for each facility and protocols for ongoing inspections, problem identification and resolution, and appeal in the event that matters are not addressed. Review prior contractor agreements that were not fulfilled fully or adequately and identify the viability of claw back or other steps to recoup funds from substandard performance and/or damage caused.
- Healing and Trust Building
Establish a restorative process for acknowledging the ongoing harm that school communities experience and develop protocols to repair and rebuild trust.
We look forward to your prompt action in support of our New Haven Public Schools and respectfully request an update on progress toward each item listed above at the next Board of Alders Education Committee meeting on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 6:00 pm in the Aldermanic Chambers.
Sincerely,
New Haven Board of Alders Education Committee
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