PHOENIX — The federal government has fined six charter schools in the Phoenix metropolitan area for failing to follow rules designed to protect from asbestos exposure.
Five of the schools failed to check for asbestos before opening, and all failed to develop management plans, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which inspected in April 2007.
The schools fined were Valley Academy and Horizon Community Learning Center, both in Phoenix; Paradise Education Center in Paradise Valley; Edu-Prize Charter School in Gilbert; Challenge School in Glendale; and Happy Valley School in Peoria.
All were fined $800 to $2,400.
The six schools have now either completed inspections or have obtained documentation that shows no asbestos is present.