State to pay for school lead testing
Oregon school districts may be reimbursed for money spent testing school taps for lead.
On Friday, the Legislature’s joint emergency board reserved $5 million in general fund money to pay for the tests.
The Salem-Keizer School District completed testing taps in all 81 schools and other buildings just before school started, at an estimated cost of $300,000 to $350,000.
While the reimbursement will be welcome, it won’t cover all the costs, district spokesman Jay Remy said. The state will pay lab testing fees, but not for labor.
The district’s lab fees are estimated at about $67,113 to-date, Remy said. It expects to spend another $5,000 to $8,000 by the end of the year.
More than a hundred taps in 37 district buildings were shut off because of high lead levels. One tap at Pringle Elementary School tested at 14,000 parts per billion – nearly three times the level the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers toxic waste.
A second sample from each of those taps is being analyzed to determine whether the problem is with the fixture or the plumbing.
Analysis of those second samples is complete at 17 schools. With a few exceptions, they show that the problems lie with the fixtures, such as faucets or water coolers.
State health and education officials had urged districts to test all taps used for drinking or cooking over the summer.
Districts that submit samples between March 1, 2016 and Dec. 1, 2016 are eligible, subject to some conditions.
Education Service Districts and charter schools also are eligible.
In August, the State Board of Education adopted a rule requiring districts that test for lead to post results within five days of receiving them.
Check the Salem-Keizer School District’s results at http://www.salkeiz.k12.or.us/parents/water-testing-information.
tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew
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