When Kelly Anderson learned about water testing in Hillsborough and Leon counties during a Florida PTA convention in July, she naturally wanted to share her findings with parents and staff at Foster Elementary School for the upcoming school year.
According to Anderson, the facilities department contacted and informed her afterward that the school district would install filters in Foster Elementary as a preventative measure before any water testing was done.
Records show Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) began installing filters in August, having purchased 1,300 filters for its 36 public schools at an approximate cost of $30,000.
The school board’s pilot installation began Aug. 8 at Foster Elementary – Alachua County’s third-oldest school (built in 1952) – and finished on Aug. 18, six days into the school year.
District spokeswoman Jackie Johnson said the school board plans to have filters installed in all district schools by March.
The process began more than a year after WUFT reported the school board had begun working with GRU to develop a district-wide protocol for lead testing.
That email also confirmed: GRU and the school district established an initial protocol to test lead in school pipes; GRU would only test schools to which it provided water; GRU would not test inside school buildings without permission from the school board; GRU water testing in Alachua County’s public schools was expected to cost $300,000.
Why Filters Over Testing Johnson said there is no issue between the utility and school district, only that the school board was determining the best way to approach lead testing.
He emphasized: “We have not found lead in the water, but we’re just not taking a chance.” Still, Anderson felt as if her plan to inform parents of concerns about water testing prompted the school board’s response to quickly install filters at Foster Elementary.
He said school districts need to install filters as soon as possible to protect the health of children.