School districts in Butler County that have experienced problems with lead in water are testing water annually, something an environmental advocacy organization says all districts in the state should do.

PennEnvironment said it compared Pennsylvania's response to lead in school drinking water to 31 other states and gave the Keystone State an F grade.

In a report issued this week, the organization said more than 70 state legislators have signed on as co-sponsors of House Bill 930 that would require annual testing of water outlets used for drinking and cooking, disclosing test results to parents and lowering the statewide standard for lead in school water to 5 parts per billion from the current standard of 15 parts per billion.

The American Association of Pediatrics says the current standard is too high, according to PennEnvironment, which has offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Current state law encourages, but doesn't require annual testing. School districts can avoid testing by explaining their reasons for not testing at a public meeting, PennEnvironment said.

The organization said state law does not require districts to provide test results to parents.

“I do think it's a good idea,” Karns City School District Superintendent Eric Ritzert said about annual testing. “It's our intention to do water testing annually regardless of any legislation.”

Lead and copper were detected in water in all three Karns City district schools last year. Replacing water fixtures corrected the problem at both elementary schools, but the junior-senior high school will continue to rely on bottled water until engineering firm Gannett Fleming, a certified water testing consultant, says the water is safe, Ritzert said.

Results from the latest tests taken in December were posted on the district website in January. The site includes results from prior testing.

If testing is eventually mandated, Ritzert said the state should help districts pay for it.

“What would be helpful for our school system and some other entities is funding to remedy problems. We also need improved guidance to identify problems and more funding to correct them,” he said.

In addition to testing, Karns City is in the process of changing its water supplier from D & D Water Company, a private company, to the Petroleum Valley Regional Water Authority of Petrolia, which owns a water line that runs in from the junior-senior high school.

The Butler School District has had issues with lead in water dating to 2016.

The problems have been remediated at all district schools, but not the administration building, which relies on water coolers, said Superintendent Brian White.

Women for a Healthy Environment, a nonprofit organization in Pittsburgh, provided a grant that was used to correct the problem at Summit Elementary School, White said.

The state should help pay for testing if it becomes mandated, he said.

“Anything the state Legislature does they should make sure they have the money to pay for it, or it becomes just another unfunded mandate from the state. Everything the state passes should have a way to pay for it,” White said.

The district has started an annual water testing program and posts test results on its website.

“We have opted to test annually,” White said. “It's a hot topic that's very sensitive to our district.”

Lead found in the water at Summit Elementary resulted in a lawsuit against the district and criminal charges against the former maintenance director, who resigned along with the former superintendent and assistant superintendent.

Four district residents filed the suit last year alleging negligence by former Superintendent Dale Lumley, former assistant superintendent Mary Wolf and former maintenance director Glenn Terwilliger. All three resigned in February 2017. Terwilliger worked for the district for 35 years.

The suit, which is pending in Common Pleas Court, alleges that the district didn't notify parents about unsafe levels of lead and copper found in water samples taken in August 2016 until January 2018 and the building's water supply remained in use until then.

In May 2018, state police in Butler filed misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct against Terwilliger. That case is also pending in Common Pleas Court.

“Most parents would be shocked to know that the majority (of) schools aren't compelled to test their drinking water for lead, and that when schools do test, best practices aren't always utilized, the 'acceptable' levels of lead used is too high to protect health, and the results of the tests are rarely shared with the community,” said Stephanie Wein, PennEnvironment's clean water advocate. “Schools should be safe places for our kids to learn and grow, but Pennsylvania is still failing to protect our kids from lead in drinking water.“

PennEnvironment, a nonprofit organization, is one of more than 100 health, environment and consumer advocacy groups located across the country run by the Colorado-based Public Interest Network.