ST. LOUIS — Shenandoah Elementary School in south St. Louis is on the list of public schools where lead-contaminated chain link fencing will soon be history.
Missouri State Representative LaKeySha Bosley is glad about it.
"Just making sure that we keep up to code and updated," Bosley said.
The school is located in the state representative's 79th district.
"It's a very important issue because we don't want our kids to go home potentially with lead-poisoning," Bosley said.
More than six miles of chain link fencing around the public schools will be removed.
5 On Your Side's I-Team first reported the problem two years ago.
On Tuesday, the St. Louis Board of Education voted to award contracts to remove lead-contaminated chain link fencing and replace it with what it calls safe, steel fencing.
"It's a vinyl-coated, poly fence that is more environmentally friendly and safer for children," said Jeffry Faust said, principal of Environmental Consultants, LLC in Collinsville, Illinois.
He and SLPS' Operations Team are leading the $2 million project for the school district. State and federal funds are paying for it.
"Super excited. This has been a priority for the school district for the past couple of years," Faust said.
The contaminated fencing will be removed at 21 elementary schools in the St. Louis Public School District.
Groundbreaking will begin at Columbia Elementary in north St. Louis in two to three weeks.
It's a long-awaited move that school officials, politicians and other community leaders hope will ensure safer school grounds for students.
"We need to do everything we can to be proactive," Bosley said.
The new fencing should be completed before the new school year starts on Aug. 21.