Margaret Harris School-Area Residents Fight Cell Tower Proposal

People in the neighborhoods surrounding Margaret Harris Comprehensive School are protesting a proposal to place a cell phone tower on school grounds, saying they were not made aware of the proposal in a timely manner.

Resident Joe Staley said that a meeting held at the school in May to propose the tower was met with no opposition. However, this is because of the nature of the school itself. Students at Margaret Harris live all over the county, so the method the board used to spread the word about meetings held in May regarding the proposed towers—a flier sent home with students—did not reach any of the school’s immediate neighbors.

“Of course none of us got any notice. That’s why we’re all here now,” he said.

Staley has been calling DeKalb County Board of Education members to discuss the issue. He reported that some of them, including Don McChesney, who voted yes to the towers, were sympathetic to the residents and felt that they hadn’t been notified properly.

“I don’t know if that means they’re going to go back and change the decision or not, but it certainly seems to be a foot in the door to maybe get some traction there,” Staley said.

Board member Eugene Walker told resident Sean Farnon that he would vote yes to this proposal if he had to do it again, adding that he would allow a tower in his own front yard, while board member Nancy Jester told Farnon that she voted no and asked what towers had to do with education.

On that note, resident Lauren Fernandez Staley said that these towers would yield only $400 per month to the school’s PTA and then wondered if that amount would be necessary considering the other ways schools make money, including SPLOST taxes.

“Two [board members] actively said that we have no shortage of funds,” Joe Staley said.

Staley also noticed recent soil sample tests on the property and reported that this means there is still potentially time for T-Mobile to back out, since nothing is really official yet and there are no permits. He added that none of the school board members were truly certain if a contract with T-Mobile had been officially signed, either. Concerned residents feel they have time to act.

Resident Zoe Reichmann has spearheaded a petition effort to stop the tower and has seen a successful drive so far.

“People are so informed and so done with cell towers,” Reichmann said. She will continue to seek out signatures before the next school board meeting.

Reichmann also said that the data T-Mobile uses to support the towers with claims of little to no adverse health benefits focus on only two sources, the CDC and the World Health Organization, while ignoring other studies on the matter. Farnon echoed the health concerns regarding towers.

Staley added concerns about decreased property values, saying that studies have shown a 10 to 20 percent decrease in value relative to the presence of a tower.

“That’s the last thing we need,” said Fernandez Staley, adding that she and many other homeowners have spent good time and money maintaining or building their homes.

Staley said that three schools in the proposed list of twelve voiced opposition and were removed from contention. One of those schools was . Because of this, residents are focusing on showing awareness.

“I think the big push is just to continue talking to the school board members,” Staley said.

“They need to know that this community cares and is checked in now and now that we know, this should not happen to us,” Fernandez Staley added.

Residents will continue to seek petition signatures, call and e-mail school board residents, design and put up yard signs and are looking to add a separate website to their current Facebook presence. A reporter and cameraman from CBS 46 were at the meeting while a previous interview aired before the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Fernandez Staley said.

The next school board meeting will be on Dec. 5 and residents plan to attend in numbers.