Gov. Tom Wolf announced a proposal this week to rid public schools of lead and asbestos. We approve.

The proposed $1.1 billion package includes the expansion of existing grant programs, while the state could seek federal funding for replacing lead lines in public water systems, testing for lead in drinking water and removing lead paint from child care centers.

The initiative will be part of the budget proposal the governor sends to the Legislature for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

Data released late last year by the state’s Department of Education found unsafe lead levels in school drinking water at more than 100 buildings in 32 state districts.

Two schools attended by Butler County youths — Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District’s elementary and junior/senior high schools — shut off water and provided bottled water in April 2019 due to lead in the drinking water.

Otherwise, no county schools were listed among those with unsafe drinking water.

But the county doesn’t exactly have cause for celebration. Lead and copper were discovered at all three Karns City district schools in 2018, Butler Area School District had issues with lead in the water dating back several years, and lead levels at Summit Elementary led to a 2017 federal lawsuit.

Last year, a report by advocacy organization Penn-Environment gave the state an “F” grade when comparing its response to lead in school drinking water to 31 states. And a law passed in 2018 encourages — but doesn’t require — schools to do annual testing for lead.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that exposure to even low levels of lead can be harmful to children, leading to central and peripheral nervous system damage, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, slower growth and impairment to hearing or formation and function of blood cells.

Inhaling asbestos fibers can cause chronic lung, throat and gastrointestinal tract problems as well as a rare type of chest cancer that can surface decades after exposure.

If children attend a school every day where the drinking water contains lead or they are breathing in asbestos fibers, they are at risk.

Wolf’s plan would expand the state’s primary bond-funded redevelopment grant program by $1 billion and make funding available for lead and asbestos remediation at schools. Expanding the program would not require a tax increase, Wolf said.

We hope the governor and Legislature work this proposal into the finalized state budget, and that legislators strengthen laws to require school districts to perform more frequent testing.

The health and safety of children are at stake.