Cell towers and health risks

Gazette Editorial Board

-

The Cedar Rapids school board received a pretty strong signal from the public panning the idea of putting a cellphone tower on top of Johnson School of the Arts. So when the board pulled the plug on the plan this week, we think it was a reasonable and responsive decision.

Under the proposed five-year contract, Verizon would have paid the school district $25,800 in the first year with 3 percent annual increases after that. Not an insignificant sum. But listening to the concerns and worries expressed by parents carries its own value for the district.

We can't find much solid scientific consensus on the notion that cellphone towers pose a health risk. But in a city heavily dotted with towers, serving a population filled with phone users, if health risks exist, the denial of one tower probably won't make much difference.

What this episode does show is that the school district needs to create a fact-based set of policy guidelines for similar decisions in the future. Cell towers are already present at Wilson and Roosevelt schools, as well as Kingston Stadium, with contracts of varying lengths that bring in about $75,000

So it's likely that those contracts and other offers eventually will come before the board. Specific circumstances may drive those decisions, but we think the board should try to forge policy that includes a districtwide stance on safety concerns and other issues likely to come up in every instance.

That may not keep the board from getting static in the future, but parents and taxpayers will appreciate a clearer, more consistent message from the district.

l Comments: editorial@thegazette.com or (319) 398-8262