This spring, parents at Rose City Park and Creston School asked that campus water be tested for lead.
Tests conducted on March 22 showed that several water fountains exceeded federal standards. A second round of tests a month later also showed elevated lead levels. Crews repaired and replaced questionable plumbing quickly.
But for a few days at least, the contaminated water continued to flow. And school officials didn’t tell parents, many faculty, school board members — or even Superintendent Carole Smith — until last week.
Related: Portland Public Shuts Off Drinking Water After Finding Lead At 2 Schools
“We have to start finding out who knew what when," said board member Paul Anthony, who learned of the lead problem from worried parents. "As it begins to sound that people have made significant mistakes, significant errors in judgment, they need to be held accountable.”
Board member Pam Knowles stresses that she doesn’t have all the facts yet. But she also says she and other district leaders should have been informed sooner.
"The board and the superintendent need to know when something like that happens," she said. "Apparently there was someone who knew earlier than that, and was trying to fix it, but the word didn't get to the right people."
PPS administrators now plan to shut off drinking water for the final two weeks of the school year at every school. District spokeswoman Christine Miles says it’s not clear yet how much water that will require, how much it will cost or even where all the water will come from. The district doesn’t just have a million or so bottles of clean water stashed in a warehouse somewhere.
"Late Friday night our facilities department was busy ordering and trying to find places like Costco or other big box stores that had it on hand," Miles said.
PPS administrators will hold community meetings this week at Creston and Rose City. They’re working with Multnomah County health officials to provide lead screening for students at those campuses the week of June 6. Prolonged exposure to lead can cause developmental delays in children, as well as damage to their nervous and muscular systems.
Related: Portland Finds Lead In Water At 2 Schools, Plans More Tests
PPS employees will spend the summer checking and repairing water fountains and sinks. It’s the first district-wide testing in 15 years. Miles says the tests will determine where else there are lead problems and fix the situation by the start of school next fall. They have a lot of questions.
"Is it our pipes? Is it the exterior fixtures that are old and not working? Or is it underground, and is it the source from which we get into our schools?" Miles said.
Since the public became aware of the mass contamination in Flint, Mich., parents have bombarded school districts across the country with requests for tests. They want to know if the water their kids are drinking is safe. Other metro districts have their own problems: Crews in the Beaverton School District will be testing all of their sinks and water fountains this summer after high lead levels were found at Highland Park Middle School.
Portland Public leaders were actually planning district-wide testing before the troubling lead level results at Rose City Park and Creston. Board members put money into next year’s budget for the work.
"Lots of old buildings, you know?" Knowles said. "So we're going to find a lot of lead in those buildings. It's a good thing, yes, that we're checking."
Smith has apologized to parents for the slow response and pledged changes in how the district handles water testing. Miles says PPS will release the results of this summer’s tests as quickly and broadly as possible.
At the moment, district leaders are more concerned with fixing the water problem and getting children any health care they might need than they are about political ramifications. But there could be some: They’re considering asking voters to consider a construction bond measure this fall that may total as much as more than$500 million.