There may be lead in the drinking water at your kid's school but VSB won't formally let you know until later this year

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The Vancouver School Board is taking steps to deal with lead in drinking water at schools.

A motion passed Monday night will direct staff to develop a comprehensive plan to address the issue although most trustees voted to put off formally letting parents know.

The original motion called for “immediately” informing parents about the possibility of lead in the drinking water at their kid’s school so that parents could make an informed decision on whether or not they want their kids to drink the water.

I am very disheartened that there wasn’t enough trustee support to inform parents right away if their school has lead solder in the pipes. I’d want to know if my child was in those schools. I look forward to the next committee II mtg where “messaging” to parents will be discussed — Carrie Bercic (@CarrieBercic) September 25, 2018

“We want the letter out, we’re informing parents, we just want all stakeholder groups and we need Vancouver Coastal Health. Full stop, Vancouver Coastal Health needs to be involved in this,” says Trustee Allan Wong, who amended the original motion along with Trustee Lisa Dominato.

“That’s a reasonable and I think more thoughtful way of addressing how to get the information out to parents.”

Instead, trustees will talk about letting parents know at a Planning & Facilities Committee meeting at the end of October.

Many people online point out that that would be after the municipal elections. But Wong, who’s seeking reelection, denies his amendment had anything to do with it.

“I know it’s an important issue, but why can’t we wait for all our stakeholder groups to get involved,” he says, adding lead levels at school are already under provincial and federal standards.

“Their guidelines is 10 ppb, we’re moving it down to 5 ppb.”

Thread: I am very glad that my motion on #lead in drinking water in our schools passed & resulted in positive change. VSB trustees have voted to re-pipe and install water refilling stations in schools. Thanks for all of the support @OneCityVan #vanpoli #bcpoli #bced — Carrie Bercic (@CarrieBercic) September 25, 2018

The comprehensive plan passed by trustees will aim to see as many schools as possible completely eliminate lead in drinking water as quickly as possible. They will also lobby the province for funding.

Carrie Bercic, who put forward the original motion and is also looking for reelection, says she’s disheartened by the change in immediately letting parents know.

“What I took and heard from the meeting was that they were most concerned with, you know, possibly alarming parents if messaging wasn’t structured in a way that, you know, most people felt parents would find palpable, I guess,” she says.

Bercic adds she’s committed to making sure the issue of drinking water in schools is finally addressed.

“It pops up every once in a while in the news over the last years but this time it seems to have really gathered quite a bit of momentum.”