More San Francisco’s public schools could become sites for cell phone antennas, a potential revenue generator, with the controversial equipment already installed at two schools.
In July, the San Francisco Unified School District entered into one-year contracts with Cingular Wireless, now AT&T, and received $48,410 for each school site.
The district’s real estate office has been approached by cellular companies to possibly increase that number, according to district spokeswoman Gentle Blythe, who did not say how sites are being considered.
No decision has been made on the requests, but last month the Board of Education’s Building Grounds and Services Committee asked district staff to provide more information about equipment that would be used, including whether there would be harm to students and staff as a result of hosting a cell tower.
An informational item about the potential revenue from the antennas is on tonight’s school board agenda.
Doug Loranger of the San Francisco Neighborhood Antenna Free Union, which works to block installations on sites believed to have populations more susceptible to radiation, including schools and hospitals, said the news of antennas already on school property came as a surprise.
Loranger said there have been a number of studies that prove people in close proximity to cell phone towers have an increased risk of getting cancer.
“Unfortunately, science can’t explain why we’re seeing this. We don’t know causes yet,” Loranger said.
In 2003, the San Francisco Planning Department reported to the Board of Supervisors that there were 463 station sites in The City with as many as 2,400 cell phone antennas, since many stations had two to four.
Cell phone antenna towers in San Francisco
2,400 estimated number of cell phone antennae citywide in 2003
463 number of base station sites for cell phone antennae in the city in 2003
2 number of cell phone antennae currently installed on San Francisco public schools
Source: San Francisco Planning Department, San Francisco Unified School District
