The Bellevue School District is disputing an Associated Press report about lead in district schools.
Bellevue admitted it had tests that showed lead in fixtures in 13 elementary schools, but said the test results are more than 10 years old. The AP agreed Friday afternoon that the results that were initially reported as recent were from 2005.
The same concerning lead levels were found in fixtures at every middle and high school, but those results were also from previous tests. The district is working to find out what years those tests were conducted.
"Fixtures in these buildings have been replaced," said Elizabeth Sytman, the director of communications for the Bellevue School District. "I've confirmed with our facilities office that we are not aware of any lead problems with the water supply at any of our schools."
The district says that every time a test came back positive for lead, the fixture was replaced.
Bellevue School District staff said there is testing underway now. Results of the current tests are not complete yet. Sytman said if they find that any fixture is producing water that has lead levels higher than 15 parts per billion, the staff will address that immediately, as required by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Sytman also said they are gathering dates of these previous tests at each site and records of what was done to follow up. That information may become available next week.
To read about water concerns in Tacoma and Auburn schools, click here.