Lead above the federal action level was found in 25 schools in 2022 and four in 2025; the district filed its compliance assurance two months late

What happened

At the June 29, 2026 meeting a community organiser gave the board the district's own lead testing history: 2022 results showed outlets in 25 schools above the action level of 15 parts per billion, some above 100 and some above 1,000, while 2025 results showed four schools still exceeding it, among them a bottle-filling station at Carol Robbins Elementary. The board authorised an application to the state's school lead filter programme for $19,719.48 and a water infrastructure grant application. The statement of assurance the district must file about lead was adopted on August 31, 2026, though it directs submission on or before June 30, 2026, and it concedes that notifications were required for outlets exceeding the action level.

Why it matters to families

Lead is a direct and cumulative harm to children, and the record shows the problem is years old, partly reduced, and still present in four buildings. What the board has approved so far is a $19,719 grant application, and the compliance paperwork went in after the deadline.

The evidence

The speaker states that 'test results from 2022 show that water outlets in 25 schools exceeds the US EPA and New Jersey action level which is uh 15 parts per billion with some results over a 100 parts per billion and some results over a thousand parts per billion. Test results from 2025 showed that only four schools exceeded'. The August statement of assurance records that 'the District has provided the required notifications concerning any drinking water outlet with a lead concentration exceeding the applicable action level'.

The source