This is a bit tangential to the main point of the story, but I was a student at the school that was torn down the author mentioned. It's sort of an interesting

This is a bit tangential to the main point of the story, but I was a student at the school that was torn down the author mentioned. It's sort of an interesting story, you can read more about it at [1]. I think it was mostly politics, it took over 5 years from the initial temporary closing of the school for the new middle school to be built. In the winter of 2001 we got an extra 2 weeks during winter vacation because they discovered the chemicals in the ground and the new school wasn't built until 2006. Apparently the safety of the teachers and students wasn't as important as spending 3 years squabbling about where to build the new one. [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/14/nyregion/new-term-nears-town-split-safety-middle-school-built-landfill.html http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/14/nyregion/new-term-nears-to...