OLD TOWN — Manierre Elementary School in Old Town is the latest CPS school to test positive for lead, CPS announced Monday.
One of the 28 water fountains at Manierre, 1420 N. Hudson Ave., tested positive for high lead levels, bringing the number of impacted schools up to 34, CPS said in a statement. The fountain has been turned off.
CPS is working to test all 324 schools built before 1986 by the end of the school year.
As of Sunday, the district has tested 1,929 fixtures in 113 schools, and 71 of the fixtures, or 3.7 percent, had at least one sample with a lead level above the Environmental Protection Agency's action level.
The district has been sending letters home to parents and hosting a series of community meetings, which have been attended by virtually no one.
CPS asserts that the overwhelming majority of the water lines in the schools are safe.
Manierre draws mostly black, low-income kids from the Marshall Field Garden housing complex and other similar housing in the area.
In March of 2012, Manierre was one of 300 schools targeted for closing by CPS. DNAinfo Chicago documented the fight by parents to save school, which is located in the heart of a gang territory some refer to as “Sedville.” That fight helped save it in 2013 at the last minute, with officials noting the passion of the parents.
Jane Addams Elementary School, 10810 S. Avenue H, also had water that tested positive for lead, CPS announced Monday.
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