Parents from a San Francisco elementary school are demanding answers about lead mitigation work.
A lead-removal project at the Chinese Immersion School at De Avila (CIS) was originally scheduled to be completed this summer, but when students arrived on campus last week, it was still in progress.
Parent Karen Leung spoke on Zoom during public comment at the August 25 meeting to express concern about possible lead exposure around the playground.
”When we returned to school, the playground and floors had dust and debris all over,” Leung said. “The kids have been seen picking up paint chips and calling them shark teeth.”
The district says the school is safe. A district spokesperson said it commissioned a same-day soil test last week, which indicated lead levels “well below” the state’s standard for children's play areas. They said the project has been paused until further notice.
But CIS PTA President Kathryn Bache says parents are still waiting to see an ongoing clean-up plan.
“We want them to talk about how frequently they're going to test for lead so that we can all feel good that this isn't an expanding problem,” she said.
Bache took her three children to get tested for lead exposure on August 23. Their readings were low, but she says there are students at the school who have been exposed to lead in the past, making future exposures more damaging.
There is no known safe blood lead concentration, according to the World Health Organization.
Bache says some parents are keeping their kids at home as a precaution. These absences will not be excused, according to the district.
