7/29/2019 DeKalb County Schools Resolution on Cell Towers
2013
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MOTIONS / RESOLUTIONS PRESENTED TO
THE DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR
CONSIDERATION
SUBJECT: Wireless Telecommunications Installations
DATE NOTICED: Feb. 11, 2013
PRESENTED FOR ACTION: Feb. 11, 2013
PRESENTED BY: Ms. Cheryl Miller, Get the Cell Out - Atlanta
Chapter and Ms. Viola Davis, Unhappy
Taxpayer and Voter
MOVED / SECONDED BY: _______________________________
MOTION:__________________ RESOLUTION: _______________
Whereas, the health and safety of our students and employees are
fundamental concerns of the DeKalb
County School System;
Whereas, the financial responsibility of our school system falls
upon the DeKalb County School Board inits governance
responsibility;
Whereas, there continues to be considerable debate and
uncertainty within the scientific community as to
the potential health effects to individuals, especially
children, from exposure to extremely low
frequency electromagnetic and radio-frequency radiation;
Whereas, on May 31, 2011, the World Health Organization changed
the classification of electromagnetic
fields to category 2b, possible human carcinogen, based on the
study conducted by the InternationalAgency for Research on Cancer
(IARC);
Whereas, the citizens of DeKalb County have united across
political, geographic, racial and otherboundaries to work together
in order to lobby their state government in an effort to ban cell
phone towers
from public school grounds;
Whereas, the DeKalb County Commissioners penned a joint letter
to DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis,
dated March 21, 2012, to jointly oppose any alternative methods
for cell tower zoning that would not
comply with county zoning or permitting ordinances already in
place;
Whereas, the citizens of DeKalb County were successful in having
their state government place a non-
binding, advisory referendum on the DeKalb County ballot on July
31, 2012 that asked every voter if they
approved of the placement or operation of wireless
telecommunications towers on public school grounds
at any elementary, middle, high or charter school in the county,
and the voters returned an answer of No
by a 62% majority, totaling more than 75,000 registered
votes.
Whereas, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
reported in its December 2012 report
that our school system must change in order to save its
accreditation. Among these changes were notedprimarily under the
action items that #1) the focus must be serving the needs of the
children and #2) the
board must ensure that all actions and decisions of the DeKalb
County Board of Education are reflective of
the collective Board and consistent with approved policies and
procedures and all applicable laws,
regulations and standards, rather than individual board members
acting independently and undermining the
authority of the Superintendent to lead and manage day-to-day
operations;
Whereas, cell towers operating on public school grounds do not
serve an educational purpose in DeKalb
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7/29/2019 DeKalb County Schools Resolution on Cell Towers
2013
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County and are not necessary for moving forward toward any
stated technology plans in our schools;
Whereas, cell towers place an undue financial burden upon the
communities in which they would be
placed, further eroding a tax base already in peril and
alienating many taxpayers from further support of the
district. Whereas, the Appraisal Institute, the largest global
association for appraisers with more than 91chapters worldwide, has
educated its members on the potential impact of cell towers on
residential property
as being anywhere from 2 - 20% decline, with the larger decline
in value being realized by properties closerto the tower
itself;
Whereas, The full Parliament of the European Union has raised
concerns about the exposure of children
and young people to electromagnetic fields and continuing
uncertainties about possible health risks; and
therefore, adopted on April 2, 2009 a resolution encouraging 1)
the establishment of setback criteria for
wireless antennas, mobile phone masts and other electromagnetic
emitting devices to be set within aspecific distance from schools
and health institutions, 2) stricter regulations and protections
for residents
and consumers and 3) more reliable information be made available
about the effects of exposure to
electromagnetic fields to citizens in an effort to prevent a
"proliferation of poorly positioned masts and
transmitters.
Be it enactedThat the DeKalb County School System shall not, now
or in the future, consider or approve any proposals
from telecommunication providers, tower companies, their
subsidiaries or the like for the lease or sale of
public school grounds for the purpose of construction, placement
or operation of wireless or other
telecommunications structures until such a time that these
structures have been proven to the satisfaction of
the World Health Organization, or similar authority of
scientists and researchers known to the generalpublic, to be safe
for operation within close proximity to homes and schools.
Be it agreed to upon consent this 11th day of February,
2013.
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