Misplaced Priorities & Trust Lost: Walker County Schools Response to Lead Contamination

Where is the accountability after Walker Co. Schools stripped parents of the right to protect their children & recklessly exposed students to a dangerous neurotoxin for a semester?

“When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.” - Thomas Sowell

Walker County parents needed to hear the truth. The truth is that for the last semester, the leadership of Walker county schools kept secret the fact that lead (the toxic metal) was found in the drinking and cooking water at four elementary schools. The truth is 84% of the 140+ taps tested came back with a showing of lead in the water. The truth is there is no safe or acceptable level of lead in the water. The truth is that ingestion of lead equivalent to a few grains of sand can have life-altering neurological effects. The truth is parents were stripped of their right to make informed decisions for their children’s health. The truth is with with less than a month from the start of a new school year in Walker County, one filter has been purchased. ONE.

Last month I wrote about lead (the toxic metal) in the water at four Walker County elementary schools and the failure to notify parents, staff, or even the water provider. After my article exposed the issue and raised a number of questions, Superintendent Damon Raines released a statement and spoke to News Channel 9. Raines, however, would have you believe that everything is under control. That they're following the testing provider's remediation guidance, implementing system flush dates, and installing new filters. All sounds reassuring, right?

Since my expose, the Walker County leadership, Raines, and sadly, even our local TV news, have attempted to obfuscate the issue by misappropriating the non-health-based "action level" of 15 parts-per-billion (ppb) from the EPA's 1991 Lead and Copper Rule. Let's get this straight; this value has no medical basis. It's an administrative tool, not a health-based standard. For perspective, the American Academy of Pediatrics insists that no level of lead exposure is safe for children and promotes a max level in schools and childcare facilities of just 1 ppb. This is the threshold for our children, not 15 ppb. Why, then, are our district leaders content with 15 ppb?

Even EPA officials have stated, “there is no evidence to support a conclusion that lead levels in drinking water near the 15 ppb are safe, especially for sensitive populations.” Since children are much more in danger from lead exposure, they surely qualify as sensitive.

Furthermore, there is no guarantee that a low reading of lead in a water sample won't eventually show a hazardous level. The school's method of testing is unable to precisely identify exposure due to the variance in lead particles that are released from lead sources. Therefore, any amount of lead that is detected in a tap should be considered unacceptable.

It’s a game of Russian Roulette, as Dr. Marc Edwards, the man who exposed the Flint, Michigan lead crisis, puts it. It's about "trying to detect semi-random events where chunks of lead fall off the pipe and into water." Sampling alone can't ensure safety. "We used to tell people that if they sample one time and their lead is low, they’re safe," says Edwards. "Everyone knows that’s false."

In regards to remediation, Superintendent Raines discussed the use of filters and flushing.

Let's talk about those filters. Filters, as long as they are changed when needed, are a very effective way to ensure safety and eliminate lead. The district did purchase one - yes, one - filter back in January. This single, lonely filter was destined for an ice machine at Chattanooga Valley Elementary. And the other 120 contaminated taps? They were left to the dubious mercy of cleaning and flushing, which, by all credible accounts, is the least effective remediation measure. Numerous studies show that lead levels return to pre-flushing levels within as little as one hour.

Superintendent Raines has since violated the Georgia Open Records Act

First, I asked for all emails/communication between the school system and the testing provider, The superintendent supplied a pdf document (linked at the bottom) which appeared to be a collection of emails and attachments. However, looking at the lower right-hand corner page numbers, it is clear that Superintendent Raines did not supply the complete documents and only provided selected pages in response to the open records request.

Another request I made was for records of any communications between district leadership and the principals or assistant principals at the four schools since the results were returned. I asked for this because Superintendent Raines said leadership at each school was made aware. Stunningly. this open records request has thus far been completely ignored. State law requires a response to open records requests within three days. It’s been nearly two weeks. We know parents and staff were intentionally kept in the dark. When were principals told? Were they part of the decision to withhold the results?

I also wanted to know exactly what remediation measure was applied for the taps which tested positive for lead. In response, the superintendent provided a receipt for a single water filter. For an ice machine. Apparently, the 120+ other taps’ only remediation was cleaning and flushing.

What is needed is filters on every tap that tests positive for lead. BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS. Additionally, the school should work to remove lead sources if feasible.

Bottom Line

The unforgivable crime in this entire debacle is not merely the presence of lead in our children's drinking water, but the cruel silence maintained by Raines and the Walker County School administration. They stripped parents of their right to protect their children, to make informed decisions about their child's health, and subjected them to a life-altering neurotoxin, all the while knowing the effects of even low levels of lead.

This debacle underscores not only Raines's severe lack of leadership but also the significant shortcomings within the school board. Since the story about lead contamination became public, they have failed to investigate why parents weren’t told or find a solution, or really, even, take an interest. Their apathy and neglect, it seems, are mirrored in Raines's own behavior thus far.

The fact that two board members (Karen Harden and Mike Carruth) have adult children working for the district in system administrative positions under Raines adds an unsavory nepotistic flavor to this scandalous saga. The Nepotism provision in the state law regarding qualifications for school board members, which I detailed in a previous article, makes it clear—they should resign, or they can and should be removed from office. Yet, they continue to serve in violation.

The lead contamination issue in Walker County Schools is a microcosm of a larger, more unsettling narrative - a narrative of a system that prioritizes self-preservation over the well-being of those it serves. A culture that values administrative bureaucracy over transparency, new vehicles over new filters. A system where parents are kept uninformed, where students sip lead-laden water, and where district leaders dismiss their duty to protect.

Lead in our schools' water is not just a health crisis; it's a crisis of trust, a crisis of leadership. It's a call to action - for stringent testing, comprehensive remediation, transparent communication, and unrelenting accountability. To borrow from Thomas Sowell, we must help our community, and the children, by telling the truth.

Superintendent Raines and the Walker County School Board need to be held accountable for this gross dereliction of duty. As parents, as residents of this county and community, we need answers. We need transparency. And we need action.

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https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/538589-epas-plan-to-test-for-lead-in-schools-will-do-more-harm-than-good/