Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE)
Jersey City Chapter of the Statewide Education Organizing Committee (SEOC)
169-A Martin Luther King Drive, Jersey City NJ 07305
201-918-2918 --- pcue.info@seocnj.org
Nov. 10, 2008
Dr. Charles Epps, School District Superintendent
Jersey City Board of Education
346 Claremont Ave.
Jersey City, NJ 07305
Dear Dr. Epps,
As we write this letter to you, PCUE has not yet received the lead remediation plan/timeline. You told us, in your letter dated Oct. 8, that it would be available to us by the week of Oct. 20th. The plan was originally supposed to be ready by Oct. 3 as was stated to the Jersey Journal by your spokesperson Mr. Roger Jones. We are very disappointed that our school district has been dragging its feet to deal with the lead problem in drinking water in a decisive manner.
More than two years ago in September 2006, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warned you about the high level of lead in drinking water in our schools. For 18 months, your administration not only failed to do anything about it, but also did not share that information with parents of children in our schools and the community until it became national news in January 2008.
Under public pressure, your administration finally began testing of water sources in all schools in May, 2008 and completed the process in July. In your letter to the parents, you stated that according to EPA guidelines a remediation plan could only be developed when all the testing is done and test results were available for all schools. This was inaccurate information to the public which you attributed to EPA. We learned about this information from a letter that was sent to you by Ms. Dore LaPosta, Director of Division of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance, EPA Region II.
As stated by Ms. LaPosta, there was no need to wait to have the test results for all the schools. Your administration could have begun correcting lead problem as test results were available for each school. This would mean that the district could have remediated the lead problem before the start of this school year.
EPA guidelines require a short-term and a long term plan to rectify the lead problem. We are glad to see that as a short-term solution, the district is currently providing safe drinking water to children in our schools. However, safe drinking water availability is a continuous problem in many schools. Parents from various schools complain that water coolers provided by the school district either run out of water or cups are not available. In other occasions, water is not readily accessible to children. Some parents even complain that their schools do not even provide drinking water for children unless in case of emergency when children forget to bring water from home. On Thursday, Nov. 6 we called and conveyed this to Mr. Crisonino.
We understand that providing safe drinking water to 30,000 students in 40 schools, under current condition when drinking water fountains are shut off, is not an easy job. However, we are asking that the school district make all the effort to have safe drinking water available for our children at all times. No child in our schools should go without safe drinking water and no parent should be forced to provide water to their children to take to school. It is the responsibility of schools to have safe drinking water for our children while they are in schools.
Also, we urge you to share with parents and the community how and when you plan to permanently fix the lead problem in drinking water. Under EPA guideline, you are advised to share that information with the public. Furthermore, you made a commitment to parents that you would notify them of the lead remediation plan/timeline.
As parents of children, we have a right to know how and when the district will be correcting this long over due lead problem that exist in our schools. We are concerned about our children’s health, well-being, and comfort in schools. We are concerned that the school district is not motivated enough to act decisively to deal with the lead problem and even worse is keeping us in the dark.
Dr. Epps, we urge you to address our concerns. It is time for action, not more promises. You may reach us at 201-918-2918.
Sincerely,
LueElla McFadden, President
Parents and Communities United for Education
Cc: Members of the Board of Education
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