Briarcliff Heights Community Action Group

DeKalb Co. parents protest against cell towers on campuses – CBS Atlanta 46:.
Several dozen DeKalb County school parents marched with their kids Saturday. They are protesting what they perceive as a “back room” deal between the school board and T-Mobile.

The cell phone company has an agreement with DeKalb County Schools to build towers on nine school campuses.

“There’s no reason for (a tower) to be here,” said parent Rudy Evenson. “It’s not associated with their education, it’s not part of the school’s mission.”

He, along with other parents, marched with picket signs along Lavista Road, with police escort, to the T-Mobile store near Interstate 285.

Some parents are concerned about the safety risks of having a cell phone tower on campus, while other parents resent how the transaction was conducted.

“Yeah, we’ve been railroaded,” said Evenson. “This is a back room deal between the Board of Education and T-Mobile.”

DeKalb County Schools spokesman Walter Woods said they held several public information meetings before signing the lease agreement with T-Mobile last summer.

As for why they decided to enter that agreement in the first place, Woods said the monthly income that should be generated by the lease is sorely needed for a school district that is cash-strapped.

T-Mobile spokeswoman, Ann Brooks, also issued a statement. It says, “The overwhelming consensus from the scientific community is that there is no harm to human health from the wireless facilities that T-Mobile is proposing.”

The cell phone towers should be constructed and operational by the start of next school year.