Updated at 2:43 p.m.
The Burlington School District announced Thursday that it intends to sue Monsanto over contamination of Burlington High School via polychlorinated biphenyl, a hazardous group of chemicals known as PCBs.
Though the lawsuit has not yet been filed, Superintendent Tom Flanagan said during a press conference that the district intends to “aggressively seek compensation against the corporation that caused this problem.”
Flanagan said the district will seek damages related to the closing of Burlington High School and Technical Center in 2020 because of PCB contamination, the subsequent relocation to the former Macy’s building downtown and the costs of building a new high school campus.
Thursday’s press conference was held outside the front doors of the empty high school building on Institute Road. Members of the school board, representatives of the involved law firms and Mayor Miro Weinberger also attended.
Flanagan told reporters that the district began discussing a possible lawsuit shortly after the high school was closed. The district is working with Vermont law firm Langrock, Sperry and Wool as well as national firms Seeger Weiss and Grant and Eisenhofer, who have experience in litigation against Monsanto.
Flanagan said the district, under its agreement with its attorneys, will not pay legal fees unless the suit prevails.
District officials said they are suing Monsanto for its role in manufacturing PCB.
In seeking compensation for damages, the district hopes to “minimize the impacts on taxpayers for costs they should not have to bear,” Flanagan said. Burlington residents will vote Nov. 8 on whether to approve a bond of up to $165 million to pay for a new high school, which would include remediation for PCB contamination.
Monsanto, an agrochemical company, was sold to Bayer in 2018. Bayer spokesperson Nicole Hayes said Bayer would respond to a complaint if one is filed in court.
“The former Monsanto company voluntarily stopped producing PCBs 45 years ago and its conduct has been appropriate at all times,” Hayes said. “Until the company terminated their production, PCBs were lawfully used in a number of commercial products that were manufactured by other companies.”
Speakers at the Burlington press conference used the opportunity to make a plug for the bond. Clare Wool, chair of the school board, said the district can’t start construction on a new high school unless the bond is approved. But she also noted that a successful lawsuit would help pay for the debt.
“Any money recovered from litigation would be used to pay down the bond in future years and reduce the amount taxpayers would be required to pay on debt,” Wool said.
Wool acknowledged the legal proceedings may take awhile.
“Even though we plan to pursue this course of environmental justice zealously and aggressively, we are viewing this as a long-term strategy,” Wool said. “And we are anticipating that this work could consume a number of years.”
Several former Burlington High School educators last week sued Monsanto over the same contamination, alleging they suffered serious health impacts from exposure. Flanagan said the district’s lawsuit is not connected to the educators’ suit, saying the district has been at work for several months to identify law firms with experience in environmental litigation.
Flanagan also voiced support for the suit filed by former employees.
“We care deeply about people in our own community, particularly our own staff,” Flanagan said.
