Local schools can make hundreds of thousands of dollars from leases on towers.More than 262 million wireless subscribers in the U.S. depend on 120,000 towers to route their calls to the appropriate destination. In residential areas, schools are seen as prime locations for towers. They offer large tracts of land in otherwise crowded areas. And they avoid the heated NOT IN MY BACK YARD (NIMBY) controversies that would occur if the cell phone towers were placed near people's homes.

But many parents say the money isn't worth it. Cell phone towers give off powerful electro-magnetic fields (EMF). Knowing the possible hazardous effects of these fields, the parents say the practice is irresponsible and gambling with students' health.

The debate over school-based towers is happening throughout the United States. Unfortunately, it receives relatively little press coverage--so that many families and communities have no idea of the problem. Often there is a lack of awareness that a tower has been installed near a local school.

This topic is likely to gain increasing attention over the next several years as the cell phone debate starts to get the recognition it deserves. At this point, one of the best things to do is to learn about what is happening in your community and to get the information out to the residents--so that, at the very least, decisions are made with the public having the information it needs.