School Climate & Safety News in Brief

Flint’s Toxic Water Causes Wide-Ranging Fallout

By Lesli A. Maxwell — January 26, 2016 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The water crisis in Flint, Mich., that has exposed the city’s residents to toxic levels of lead took on new political urgency last week as Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder apologized for the contamination in his annual State of the State address and pledged to fix the problem amid growing calls for his resignation.

President Barack Obama also declaredan emergency in the city, freeing up as much as $5 million in federal aid to assist with the public-health crisis and said in a speech last week in nearby Detroit that if he were a parent in Flint, he would be “beside myself that my kids’ health could be at risk.”

For months, the 5,500-student Flint district—with an enrollment that is mostly low-income and African-American—has been supplying its schools with bottled water to reduce the risk of exposure for students and staff members. The water faucets and drinking fountains in four of Flint’s schools tested above the federal limits for lead content—one at more than six times the federal limit.

The man-made catastrophe started nearly two years ago, while the financially strapped city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager. That’s when officials decided to save money by switching the city’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River, a tributary with water so toxic that General Motors didn’t want it used at its engine plant in Flint. That move introduced lead and iron into the water, and even though the city stopped using the Flint River as its water source last fall, concerns remain high because the aging pipes and service lines still release lead.

In the time since the switch to the contaminated-water source, the proportion of infants and children with above-average levels of lead in their blood has nearly doubled, according to a study released last September by the Hurley Medical Center in Flint.

A version of this article appeared in the January 27, 2016 edition of Education Week as Flint’s Toxic Water Causes Wide-Ranging Fallout

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Opinion What Do Restorative Practices Look Like in Schools?
Such practices teach students how to resolve disputes amicably, own their actions, and be empathetic and forgiving.
9 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety School Dress Codes Often Target Girls. What Happens When Male Teachers Have to Enforce Them?
Male teachers say the task can put them in a risky and uncomfortable position.
11 min read
Image of articles of clothing on a coat hook outside a school entrance.
Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva
School Climate & Safety Are School Buses Safe? An Expert Explains
A perennial concern is getting new attention.
4 min read
Photo of rescue workers and turned over school bus.
Brandy Taylor / iStock / Getty Images Plus
School Climate & Safety A School Removed Bathroom Mirrors to Keep Students From Making TikToks. Will It Work?
The desperate strategy for keeping students in class illuminates the challenge schools face in competing with social media.
5 min read
Empty blue school bathroom showing the bathroom sinks without mirrors.
iStock/Getty