The New York State Comptroller’s Office finds Fredonia Central Schools did not adequately test or report for lead, including remediation, of water outlets in school buildings.
New York State (NYS) requires all public school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to test potable (i.e., consumable) water for lead, report the results and implement necessary remediation. Testing and reporting for lead contamination began in 2016, and subsequent testing cycles have followed:
- Cycle One: September 6, 2016 to October 31, 2016.
- Cycle Two: January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 (extended to June 30, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
- Cycle Three: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025
The audit found that district officials did not properly identify, report or implement needed remediation to reduce lead exposure in all potable water outlets as required by public health law regulations. The audit determined that 178 of the 665 (27 percent) water outlets identified that students, staff and the public may have access to and could consume water from, were not sampled or properly exempted by District officials for Cycle Two. The audit said this occurred because District officials did not have a sampling plan to identify all water outlets for sampling or exemption.
The state said district officials also did not have a remedial action plan that detailed which water outlets they exempted from sampling and how they would be secured against use, and what remedial actions were planned or enacted. Because there is no information on the lead levels of the 178 water outlets not sampled for testing, the state was unable to determine whether officials identified and remediated all water outlets that would have required it.
Of the 363 water outlets that the District sampled and tested, 111 water outlets (31 percent) exceeded the lead action level. 88 of the water outlets with actionable lead levels were reviewed and determined District officials did not take appropriate remedial action for 85 (97 percent) of these water outlets.
The State said district officials did not notify staff, parents and/or guardians of test results exceeding the lead action level, in writing, as required. In addition, District officials also could not provide supporting documentation to confirm they reported test results that exceeded the lead action level to the local health department within one business day, as required. District officials also did not properly report initial testing results to the DOH’s Health Electronic Response Data System (HERDS) within 10 business days. Finally, officials did not post the test results of their potable water outlet sampling on the District’s website.
The final report includes nine recommendations to that effect. District officials disagreed with certain aspects of the state’s findings and recommendations but indicated they have initiated corrective action
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