WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Wyandotte parents expressed outrage once again over a T-Mobile cellphone tower sitting atop of Washington Elementary School.
Representatives with the corporation attended Tuesday night's school board meeting to give a presentation about its safety.
Parents were disappointed with how the meeting shook out.
T-Mobile reps left the meeting after about 30 minutes without taking any formal questions from parents. Many of them are frustrated and can't believe all the district is getting from this deal is $1,000 a month over a period of 30 years.
"He's terrified it’s on. He doesn't know. We don’t know," said Catherine Jagiello, whose son attends the school "You people don't give us answers."
Wyandotte parents made it clear they've hit a breaking point. They fear that the cluster of antennas on top of Washington elementary could put their children's health in danger.
"It is terrible that I am put in this position. It is terrible that these parents are put in this position," one parent said.
The school board entered a contract with T-Mobile in 2018.
They say cell towers like the one on Washington elementary are on hundreds of buildings across the country including schools, nurseries and colleges.
"This is not a unique situation," said Michelle Sanders, who was representing T-Mobile.
"Is there something the public can see as far as data?" one board member asked.
"We don't generally share the location of our antennas because it is considered preparatory," Sanders answered.
Once it's activated, the tower will omit radiation.
T-Mobile hired a third-party company called Site Safe to review whether the cell tower could be safely built on top of the school.
They say the antennas stand about 20 feet above the roof.
"In that review, I found that the maximum exposure levels on the top of the rooftop is well below the FCC standards for electromagnetic field safety," said Anthoney Handley with Site Safe, "Within the building will be even less."
The board asked their questions and then the presentation ended.
Both T-Mobile and Site Safe reps left the meeting without extending parents the same courtesy.
The hasty exit is really what put parents over the edge. They say their kids are scared and some are heartbroken they may have to leave the school and their friends behind.
"This cellphone tower is forcing me to leave my friends and all my teachers," said Alex Jagiello, a student at Washington elementary.
Many parents are seriously considering moving their kids to another school.
"My daughters crying at school because she thinks if the cell tower turns on, she’s going to get cancer then she's crying at home because she doesn't want to leave Washington," one mom said. "Give us answers."
Sanders asked the board and the crowd to give her a week to evaluate how much it will cost to breach the contract and move the tower somewhere else.
The board president says terminating it all together is not an option.
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