School District: Data on lead in water are misleading | Opinion

As educators, administrators, and parents, we all want what is best for our kids. But what is “best” can be subjective, especially when resources are limited and needs are so vast. That is why, as a district serving 200,000 students, the School District of Philadelphia follows standards for health and safety that are laid out by city, state, and federal regulations.

When well-intentioned advocacy groups strive to bring accountability to the district by using their own figures as opposed to those standards relied upon by every U.S. school district, they can sometimes spark fear and anxiety that are counterproductive to the work of improving our schools.

That was the case recently, when a report from PennPIRG used publicly available data to mischaracterize the work we’ve done to ensure all children have access to healthy drinking water.

Their statistics — which included a misleading claim that 98% of schools tested were positive for lead in water — were based on a standard of 1 part per billion, which is well below federal (15 ppb) and Philadelphia (10 ppb) requirements. In fact, the City of Philadelphia strengthened its standards in 2018 based on a collaborative effort by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the district, and City Council representatives to make them even more rigorous than current state and federal guidelines. And those are the standards that now govern the work of the School District.

It’s important for the public to know the district takes action to quickly shut down any faucet that tests above the city standard. And across the district, we have installed more than 1,300 hydration stations that filter lead content to less than 10 ppb, with 145 more on order. Our goal is to have a hydration station for every 100 students in a school.

We are in the middle of a five-year cycle to sample water in all our schools. That cycle was disrupted for more than a year when buildings were shut down because of the COVID-19 crisis. (As a general policy, school water should not be tested when the plumbing system is not in regular use, because stagnant water in pipes can give inaccurate readings.)

We need facts — not fear — to drive our district’s plans for the future, because we are grappling with enormous challenges, many of which are beyond our control: historic underfunding from the federal and state governments, systemic societal racism, widespread poverty, gun violence, health inequities, and other environmental issues, including lead paint and asbestos.

As we receive much-needed infusions of financial support, whether from the federal stimulus or via generous donations such as from the University of Pennsylvania, we must look holistically and equitably at the needs of our district to ensure those precious funds are put toward the most urgent needs.

The district welcomes input from the community as we work to meet health and safety standards. In fact, on Feb. 24, the Board of Education approved our request to bring in strategic partners to help launch our Facilities Planning Process in March. Community engagement and data sharing are vital to this process, which will take place over 13 months and touch on each school in the district.

We have nearly 300 district-owned buildings, the vast majority of which were built more than 70 years ago. The city and federal regulators have decided what environmental standards will protect the health and safety of our community, even without significant, sustained, and dedicated revenue streams. Creating new, more stringent standards will divert resources away from the progress being made and the important work that remains to be done.

Our needs are myriad. But together we can — and will — continue to make real progress toward ensuring all of our schools are safe and welcoming environments for our students and our staff.

Reggie McNeil is the chief of operations for the School District of Philadelphia.