Fredonia Central School District is finding itself the subject of an audit by the New York Comptroller’s Office for a lack of documentation about lead levels for more than 25% of its water access from 2021.
The school’s superintendent says it’s an opportunity to improve reporting standards and communication. The district disclosed results originally in 2021, but if the records aren’t available, then it didn’t happen, Fredonia Superintendent Brad Zilliox said.
“A lot of the communication about this testing was verbal. So, this was somebody relaying information to somebody verbally, them coming back, verbally, saying things were completed or tests were done," he said. "Right now, it's all about moving forward and putting processes in place that make sure that we have that documentation moving forward.”
The district’s communication standards have been elevated to meet State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s requirements, and all water outlets are either within safe levels of 5 micrograms of lead per liter or marked that the water is not for consumption, Zilliox said.
The district believes it isn’t the water or pipes that have lead, but older water fixtures at certain locations that still have to be replaced, which are among the ones marked as not for drinking, Zilliox said.
“As we replace these fixtures, and therefore removing the solder that contain lead, that's where we believe the levels are, are increased,” he said.
The 2025 tests already have been performed, and all results meet the comptroller’s requirements, Zilliox said.
