Hey, there! Log in / Register
BPS shuts bubblers at seven more schools due to elevated lead levels
By adamg on Tue, 08/16/2016 - 12:02pm
BPS is informing parents that water coolers at seven more schools - which had previously tested acceptable - will be shut off and replaced by bottled water as the school year starts.
The schools in question: Patrick Lyndon K-8; Lee Academy; Josiah Quincy Elementary; Boston Latin School; F. Lyman Winship Elementary; and Jeremiah E. Burke High/Dearborn STEM Academy.
In a letter to parents, School Superintendent Tommy Chang said the higher levels were probably due to the fact that the fountains aren't used much in the summer and so aren't flushed as often, but that officials are turning them off on the theory of better safe than sorry.
Thirsty kids now drink bottled water at most BPS schools - 108 school buildings use trucked-in water and only 24 deliver tap water via fountains.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 BPS water memo | 255.21 KB |
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
A billion dollars inclusive of the water bill
And we still have to bring in bottled water for these kids? Where the (expletive) is my money going?
"Where the (expletive) is my
"Where the (expletive) is my money going"
Teachers' Union dues. Need to protect the lazy and incompetent...not sure why. If I was a teacher, I'd want those people out. They are ruining the reputation of the good teachers.
Feel free
...to name some good teachers and bad teachers you've dealt with in BPS.
Oh wait...
No need to wait.
That is not appropriate online.
I have done extensive volunteer work (reading to kids) in BPS. I have met some great, passionate teachers who are probably underpaid. I have also met some teachers who should be fired immediately. I had a candid conversation with the principal and he/she couldn't doing anything about it. It made me sad for the kids.
Please don't pretend to
Please don't pretend to educate children... you can't spell your own nickname and you've made up a phony moniker for a neighborhood which is ignorant.
Far be it from me to speak
Far be it from me to speak for the entire union, but I work in one of those buildings and no wants the water to be safe more than the teachers.The environmental health of our workplace for both ourselves and our students is paramount. The reality is that we work in a very old building, as do many others across the district. We're talking Mayor Curley old buildings built with WPA money and minimally maintained for decades. If the union had half the muscle people attribute to it one of the first things we would do is modernize our workplace. Keep making teachers the boogieman, I'll be out at Target buying fans so my sixth graders don't pass out from the September heat.
This comment makes no sense.
This comment makes no sense. The union has nothing to do with water quality, union dues are paid by members not taxpayers.
Your attempt blame the union simpl shows a monumental lack of knowledge about how unions work and what they do. I would also point out to you that the last page of any contract is the signature page where both parties sign . The contract is not a one way street there was a negotiation and both sides achieved some of their goals.
As to the comment that unions protect the "lazy and incompetent" the only thing a union can do is ensure that the discipline procedures laid out in the contract are followed. If management does their job they can discipline any teacher, the problem is that pricipals are lazy, they do not want to go through the required procedure. A procedure that was bargained and agreed to by both sides. Furthermore, for the first three years of emploment teachers have virtually no contractual protections, they can be let go or non renewed easily.
SoBo is a troll
And is pretty bad at it anyway.
Besides, if you wanted to complain about paying taxes towards teachers and salaries, their union dues are the one thing you actually don't pay.
Troll fail.
Look You Can Rent Books
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Collective-Bargaining-Industrial-Rel...
Read it and learn why trying to represent yourself when bargaining from a position of no power fails.
Would you like
to fund a major capital investment in re-plumbing 108 schools?
Not to mention the fact that our property taxes are pretty reasonable with the residential exemption.
I sure would
But the Pentagon already spent the $6.5 billion.
What's broken
So where are the lead pipes? I doubt it's every pipe int he building. If it's just street to building, it's a much cheaper fix. (and all 108 schools don't have issues at the moment...)
35 cents
What are you putting into the city budget via property taxes?
Let's say it's $2000. Then you're paying $700 for BPS (35% of city budget is BPS). The city spends @ $500k on bottled water (assuming these new schools bump up last years $415,000). So if you do the math, this is costing you $.35.
Totally possible my math is wrong and you're spending $3.50 on water - feel free to check.
yours
Your money? How much of your money do you really think goes toward this?
Thirsty kids now drink
Is this the norm in public schools? Sounds outrageously expensive.
Back in my day we only had luke warm bubbler water and
we liked it very muchit was cromulent.I know nothing about this
but here are my opinions
Question
Why does all the plumbing have to go inside the walls?
Why not just supply water to the drinking fountains using the plastic tubing stuff running along the corner where the ceiling meets the wall? This has worked absolutely fine for years for getting water to my fridge ice maker.
The last few feet of drop can be copper, but this "have to replumb the schools" is NONSENSE. You don't need to worry about lead levels in toilets - just supply drinking water and get it done!
I didn't think Brooklyn knew bupkis about bubblers, Adam
You've acclimated well, my friend.
Wait. Where will the bottled
Wait. Where will the bottled water be dispensed? How many bottles is one student allowed to drink per day? To some kids, especially the good number of homeless BPS students, this will be a luxury if it is free.
Water Coolers
At my kids' school it's all bottled water coolers. No individual bottles. That would be a custodian's nightmare, I think.
You got that right!
You got that right!
Safe than sorry
Couldn't you bungee the bubblers on for an hour or two (ask the T drivers how to do that) and flush the pipes, then test (rigorously) to see if it's actually a problem?
Filters?
Wouldn't it be a heck of a lot cheaper to install bottleless coolers and serve filtered water, than to truck in water bottles? Cambridge switched to filtered water 10 years ago. Boston still spends $300k a year on water in bottles.