SAN ANTONIO – The CDC said no amount of lead in water is safe for kids to drink, but the San Antonio Independent School District said it has worked to lower the amount detected in its schools.
For months, KSAT Investigates has been digging into how the district is handling the potential health hazard.
Testing for lead in schools is voluntary in Texas. This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that more than $2 million in grants will be available to schools in the state that want to participate.
“It’s another way for schools, for childcare centers and for communities to replace lead and make sure that our kids are not exposed to it,” said Herbie Ziskend, the principal deputy communications director for the White House.
According to the CDC, no level of lead in water is safe for kids to drink.
Even low levels of lead in a child’s bloodstream could lead to:
- Behavior and learning problems
- Lower IQ and hyperactivity
- Slowed growth
- Hearing problems
- Anemia
SAISD is among the districts that’ve chosen to test for lead.
Data collected in 2022 reveals multiple schools in the district had unhealthy amounts of lead.
In a statement sent Friday, SAISD spokeswoman Laura Short said the district got a grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Voluntary Lead Testing in School and Childcare Program that allowed them to give all its schools Brita water pitchers and filters.
Short said the district is working to lower its lead threshold below the TCEQ’s requirement.
Despite knowing about lead, SAISD spent thousands on fillers that didn’t filter lead
Emails and receipts reviewed earlier this year revealed the district didn’t buy lead filters for fountains despite knowing about lead in 17 schools.
“It‘s important that any any school, any home, any business that has lead exposure takes swift action to, to remediate,” Ziskend said.
Purchase orders show in December 2022, the district bought nearly $115,000 in water bottle fillers that don’t filter out lead.
Parents like Emily Doherty had questions.
“Did you know about this? Did you approve this? And if so, why would you do that?” she said during a May 2024 interview.
‘Thanks. No interview.’
KSAT contacted the district several times to get answers for parents. The district sent us a statement, but we wanted to ask our own questions.
We even went to a school board meeting on May 20 to talk with Superintendent Jaime Aquino, who refused to answer KSAT’s questions about whether he thought it was acceptable for kids to consume water with lead.
Through a records request, KSAT got copies of several emails and texts sent internally about this story.
A text sent by district spokesperson Maury Vasquez warned a colleague about KSAT’s presence at the meeting.
“KSAT-12 is here,” Vasquez wrote. “Daniella Ibarra. Who was asking the questions over email and wanted more than a statement last week.”
Emails also reveal how the district’s communications team responded to KSAT’s initial request for an interview.
“Jaime, I want to make you aware of KSAT’s request to interview you regarding water quality,” wrote SAISD spokeswoman Laura Short in an email sent May 15. “I worked with Jenny and Yvonne to produce a media statement instead, and they continue to ask for an interview. I recommend that I respond that we have replied with a statement and that we respectfully decline the interview.”
Twenty-four minutes later, Aquino responded, “Thanks. No interview.”
SAISD's response regarding lead in water by Mason on Scribd
‘Spirit of transparency’ called into question
The refusal came months after heating system failures, which led to the closure of all SAISD campuses on the week of MLK day.
“I lead with a spirit of transparency,” Aquino wrote in a January 16 email to parents.
In March, records uncovered by KSAT revealed how the district handled the issue behind the scenes.
Aquino was not made available for that story.
Just days after KSAT reported on Aquino’s extensive travel during his tenure as superintendent, new records reveal the district’s attempts to shield him from scrutiny.
KSAT contacted SAISD to request an interview with Aquino to explain how the travel benefits students and taxpayers.
“Is there a time this week we can come by and talk with him?” KSAT reporter Daniela Ibarra wrote in an email to the district’s communications team.
Short forwarded KSAT’s request to Aquino, along with a drafted statement.
“Did you tell them that I am out this week as I am sick?” Aquino wrote in an email to Short on August 5.
“I have not yet told them you are out sick; they would just shift their request to available dates,” responded Short. “I first wanted to provide them a statement to set the tone, and then determine if you wanted to grant the investigative reporter the interview. Attached is the file I received from Julissa. Information you learned from this travel would make a good story; I am concerned, though, that an investigative report would skew the information.”
SAISD response from 8/22/2024 by Mason on Scribd
KSAT obtained all the data from the story through public records provided by the district. We reached out to SAISD a total of five times to request an interview. They sent a statement instead.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
