Lead testing of Detroit school water in 2016
What they say
In the October 21 WXYZ debate, El-Sayed said that when the Flint water crisis hit, he had every school, daycare and Head Start tested for lead in the water.
What the record shows ·
Michigan Public reported on April 6, 2016 that the Detroit health department, with El-Sayed as its director, would reach out to charters, pre-schools, day cares and Head Starts about testing their water, and that the city could not compel schools to do it. The same report said Detroit Public Schools had already tested 60 schools by then, and it named a $135,000 grant from the Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation for the testing. On August 30, 2016 it reported the city's finding that all 94 school buildings in the Detroit Public Schools Community District met federal standards for lead in water, and El-Sayed called the testing a one-time opportunity. The city's own results page says the health department paid to screen three water outlets in each building, and that where a school or daycare center has no record, its administration chose not to be tested.
Limit: The record shows he led a citywide offer of testing and that every district school building met the lead standard. Detroit Public Schools had begun testing before the city's push. The record does not show that every school, daycare and Head Start was tested: the city could not require it, and its own page says some chose not to. This card did not count how many daycares and Head Starts appear in the city's results.