wcax.com · Adam Sullivan · September 4, 2026
Contaminated schools face uncertainty as PCB remediation funding runs out
# Contaminated schools face uncertainty as PCB remediation funding runs out
By Adam Sullivan
Published: Sep. 4, 2026 at 5:38 PM EDT| Updated: 31 minutes ago
HARTFORD, Vt. (WCAX) - Vermont educators describe the outlook for ridding schools contaminated with PCBs as “as clear as mud,” as statewide funding runs out.
Nakayla Tuckerman grew up in the food industry. She is enrolled in the Hartford Area Career and Technology Center’s culinary program. But the junior’s usual classroom at the high school is off limits due to high PCB levels.
“The kitchen over there is a lot bigger than the one we have right now,” Tuckerman said. She says their current kitchen is a former American Legion post a couple miles away. “It is 15 minutes we could be using for learning. How to use equipment -- like chef is doing right now with the other students.”
And 15 minutes twice a day adds up, said Patrick Gobeille, the tech center’s head chef. “In the two years that they are in this program, that is 200 hours,” he said. Gobeille says safety is also a concern. “We don’t have an onsite nurse. So, we are a culinary program. Cuts, things like that -- it can be a dangerous environment.”
Hartford tests its schools for PCBs quarterly. The high school has had elevated levels throughout, though nothing that required emergency action like the culinary program. The state has footed the bill so far, but those funds end this year.
“Of course we are going to remain compliant and do whatever we need to do to ensure the safety of our schools for staff and students,” said Hartford Superintendent Caty Sutton. She says testing will continue, which the district will have to absorb financially, along with the added cost of the remote program. How long that will continue is the big unknown. “They deserve to have a school that is going to be a healthy and safe learning environment for students indefinitely and without any uncertainty.”
Laiquen McIntire, a junior in the cooking program, is certain he wants to open a bakery. “I like food, and it makes me happy, and I think it can help make a lot of other people happy,” he said.
He travels from Woodstock to Hartford to gain the skills he’ll need in the industry. “I think the amount of time we spend learning is worth the bus ride,” McIntire said.
As for a complete gutting of the high school to address the problem, educators say that is not a financial reality right now.
According to the Agency of Natural Resources, there are still 158 schools in the state that need to be tested for PCB contamination. The date to complete sampling of all Vermont schools is Aug. 1, 2035.
- WCAX - 30 Joy Drive - South Burlington, VT 05403 - (802) 652-6300
publicfile@wcax.com - (802) 652-6324