70 GROUPS SUPPORT ACTION TO GET LEAD OUT OF SCHOOL
DRINKING WATER BY SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA
After
SDP announces plans to replace drinking fountains, groups share letter of
support following advocacy and research by PennPIRG, PennEnvironment, and the
Black Church Center for Justice and Equality
For
Immediate Release
Wednesday,
May 25, 2022
For Immediate Release
TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2022
PHILADELPHIA– On May 4th,
administrators from the School District of Philadelphia presented the 2022-2023
budget for City Council and announced a detailed plan to replace old water
fountains with lead filtering hydration stations by 2025. Following the
announcement, PennPIRG Education Fund, the PennEnvironment Research &
Policy Center, and the Black Church Center for Justice and Equality, released
a letter co-signed by 70 community
organizations. The letter calls on district leaders to address the threat of
lead in school drinking water. The recommendations put forth by the
organizations appear to mirror the steps announced by Dr. Hite at the May 4th
presentation to city council.
“Schools should be safe
places where our kids go to learn, achieve, and grow up to be productive
citizens in society," stated PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center
Executive Director David Masur. "Instead, the pervasive threat of lead in
drinking water still faces Philadelphia kids when they enter our school
buildings. It's encouraging to see district officials address this threat by
allocating funds towards hydration stations in all schools.”
District officials
announced their plan to allocate $6.2 million to replace 800 antiquated
drinking fountains that pose a threat to lead contamination from drinking water
with new, lead-filtering hydration stations. The district has already taken
this step with 1,300 outlets installed, and by doing this, they are committing
to have 2,100 drinking fountains that pose a threat to lead contamination to be
fully replaced district wide by 2025.
As the letter states,
this project can be paid for with less than 1% of the federal stimulus money
the district received last spring.
“The district’s
allocation of $6.2 million toward hydration stations is an important step
towards ensuring that all students in Philadelphia have safe water to drink,”
said Emma Horst-Martz, PennPIRG Advocate. “It is clear that the community is
concerned about lead contamination and we look forward to working with the
district and City Council until this project is complete.”
The letter follows up on
a report released by the groups in
February, which compiled data from the school district’s water testing program.
The results showed that 98% of schools tested had at least one outlet in the
building test positive for lead in the water, and 61% of all outlets tested
across the school district had lead contamination.
“Budgets and legislation
are moral, even theological, documents that expose the heart of leaders and the
soul of our politics—what we hold to be sacred,” said Pastor Willie Francois,
President of the Black Church Center for Justice and Equality. “If we follow
the money committed to safe drinking water, SDP communicates loudly a devotion
to guaranteeing schools are sanctuaries for children.“
Lead is a potent
neurotoxin that can cause learning disabilities, organ damage and lifelong
health problems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that
there is no safe level of lead exposure and it is particularly dangerous for
young children who are still growing. Kids spend much of their day in school
buildings, many of which have old lead pipes, faucets, and components.
In response to the
report’s findings, City Councilmember Helen Gym introduced Bill 220221 in March. This proposal would
require the school district to install the remaining hydration stations by
2025, codifying the district’s stated plan into city law.
“In 2022, it’s not too
much to ask that schoolchildren have drinking water that is entirely lead free
– in fact, it should be essential,” said Councilmember Helen Gym (At-Large). “I
am honored to have worked alongside PennPIRG and PennEnvironment on this
legislation and campaign since 2016. The campaign for clean, safe, and lead
free water has not only resulted in what we expect to be a swift victory, but
also kickstarted a billion dollar school modernization efforts for the first
time in decades. We will continue to organize with school communities across
this city, fighting for healthy learning environments for every student.”
The 70 organizations who
delivered the letter include Our City Our Schools, POWER Interfaith, Parents
United for Public Education, Conservation Voters of PA and others.
“Providing timely public
access to data and information is a critical element in the ability of
stakeholders to know and understand what we need to know about the conditions
in our public schools,” said Jerry Roseman, Director of Environmental Science
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Health and Welfare Fund. “Using the power
of information about lead contaminated drinking water in Philly schools, a
diverse coalition of groups was able to come together to successfully recommend
an effective solution to protect our kids and to work with Council Member Gym
to get Bill 220221 introduced. We need to stay involved to ensure that
implementation is done well and sustained.”
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PennEnvironment Research
& Policy Center is dedicated to protecting our air, water and open spaces.
We work to protect the places we love, advance the environmental values we
share, and win real results for our environment. For more information,
visit www.PennEnvironmentCenter.org.
PennPIRG (Public Interest
Research Group) Education Fund is an independent, non-partisan group that works
for consumers and the public interest. Through research, public education and
outreach, we serve as counterweights to the influence of powerful interests
that threaten our health, safety, and wellbeing. To learn more, visit our
website at www.pennpirgedfund.org.
The Black Church Center
for Justice and Equality is a non profit organization with the mission to
reaffirm the social justice tradition of the Black Church by providing a
platform for progressive theological debate, public policy advocacy, and public
engagement that amplifies the voices of progressive African-American faith
leaders. For more about BCC, visit https://theblackchurch.net/.