Consultants: Perry Elementary and future Hudson site meet state mitigation standards; testing results 'performed as designed'

Jefferson County Public Schools presented an environmental mitigation update Nov. 18 for William H. Perry Elementary (755 Dixie Highway) and the future J. Blaine Hudson Middle School, telling the board both sites are in regulatory programs and have mitigation and testing plans approved or under review by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet.

Operations staff and consultants said Perry was registered as a brownfield in 2017, part of the site was purchased by JCPS in 2020, and construction included a vapor mitigation system and placement of clean topsoil. Consultants said the cabinet issued a notice of concurrence for the property management plan and that multiple rounds of testing — including three test rounds at Perry and post-construction sampling — showed compliance with the mitigation plan.

Consultants explained the sampling protocol used for indoor-air monitoring: Summa canisters set in the breathing zone for an eight-hour school-day period and analyzed at an external laboratory. "When we did this, we set up, I believe it was 7 or 8... set that canister for 8 hours," a principal geologist said, and reported the August canister testing showed no cause for concern.

For the Hudson site, JCPS received the property as a donation in 2024 and submitted a property management plan in 2025 that addresses groundwater, soil and construction protocols; construction plans are pending approval by the Energy Cabinet. Consultants described a robust passive vapor-mitigation system under school footprints and said it can be converted to an active system if future samples indicate a need.

Board members asked whether the state performs independent follow-up testing. Consultants said the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet conducts audits and can require post-construction testing; the cabinet had audited the Perry site in 2024 and found JCPS in compliance. Consultants and staff agreed to provide the board with the Aug. 25 summa-canister testing report and a one-page executive summary.

React, a community organization, and other residents had raised questions about site safety; staff said they convened the update at the board chair's request to include all technical voices and address community concerns.

Board members were told site completion for Hudson is on track for 2028, subject to cabinet approvals and construction timelines.