September 9, 2016
TOMPKINS COUNTY, NY – State Senate candidate Leslie Danks Burke says that in response to the news that the legislation requiring public school districts to test for lead in school drinking water, State Senate candidate Leslie Danks Burke called for action to remedy shortcomings in the new law. “Universal testing for lead testing in schools would be great news,” said Leslie Danks Burke, candidate for State Senate. “But in typical Albany fashion, this new law has massive holes. It leaves out private schools and daycare centers; it does nothing to address any lead that is found; and it appropriates no funds to pay for lead cleanup. Our schools, already shortchanged by Albany, will have to pay to overhaul aging lead pipes to eliminate the problem at the source. This is a public crisis in need of a public solution, and any serious response to this problem must include comprehensive lead remediation.”
Leslie Danks Burke says that her children attended schools in Tompkins County, that had water issues. “Back in February, like thousands of other parents in Tompkins County, I learned that my children were no longer allowed to drink or wash in the water at school because of high lead levels,” Danks Burke said. “My children went back to school yesterday and nothing has changed. The drinking fountains are still turned off, there are signs warning children not to use the water, and bottled water is being carted in. Where we know lead is in our children’s drinking water, we need to get it out and we need Albany to do its part. Let’s get to work.”
