The Binghamton School District’s Board of Education has declared an emergency situation at Calvin Coolidge Elementary School, after workers discovered asbestos last week in a basement crawl space. The Board met early Tuesday to vote on the emergency resolution, which will expedite the process for mitigation and recovery work. District officials are waiting for guidelines from the state to determine what will happen to students when they have to return for the start of the school year on September 4th. The asbestos was found during a federal mandatory inspection at the school on Robinson Street, and the area was sealed off immediately. Air tests were performed in the building last week, and no elevated levels were found in the cafeteria or gymnasium. The state labor department is expected to send guidelines to determine which objects in the building need to be cleaned or discarded. On Thursday, officials relocated students participating in a summer enrichment program at Calvin Coolidge about a mile and a half to nearby Theodore Roosevelt Elementary on Ogden Street.
