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South Philadelphia school temporarily closed after finding asbestos

School in South Philadelphia temporarily closed after finding asbestos
School in South Philadelphia temporarily closed after finding asbestos 01:26

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The list of school closures keeps growing lately and we can add another to the list Friday. Another school is temporarily closed due to damaged asbestos.

Universal Vare Charter School is temporarily closed after school officials say asbestos was detected during a routine check.

This is the sixth district building affected. One has since reopened.

Earlier this week, about 500 students at the C.W. Henry School in West Mount Airy shifted to virtual learning after damaged asbestos was found.

"Just know that we are here and we care and we are going to work around the clock on how we are going to address this crisis," Isaiah Thomas said.

Councilmember Thomas says addressing this will be a process and not a quick fix. He along with other city and state leaders are headed to Harrisburg to push for state funding for school building repairs in the midst of the school closings.

They hope to make a huge difference as it relates to the future of education in the city.

Thomas says his goal is to be as transparent and supportive of the public as possible through all of this.

"For the parents just know that we are doing everything in our power to assure that your children are able to go to a safe school and get a quality education."

When it comes to Universal Vare, school officials say they will provide an update on the status of the building next week. 

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