The East Bloomfield Central School District did not properly test or report lead levels in its drinking water outlets during a required statewide testing cycle, according to a July report by the New York State Comptroller’s Office.
The audit found that district officials failed to sample 95 of the 246 water outlets that could be used by students, staff, or the public—representing nearly 40 percent of required fixtures. These outlets were neither tested for lead contamination nor properly exempted with effective safeguards.
“Because the 95 water outlets we identified were not properly secured against use and were not sampled for testing, we were unable to determine whether they were below the lead action level,” auditors wrote. The state-mandated threshold for acceptable lead levels during the audit period was 15 parts per billion.
The report also revealed that of the 130 outlets tested during the 2020–2021 cycle, 31 exceeded the lead action level. Eight of those outlets, including sinks in faculty lounges, locker rooms, and classrooms, remained accessible as of January 2025 with only posted signage serving as a deterrent—a method the Department of Health does not consider an adequate long-term control.
Beyond the sampling failures, the district also did not meet mandatory reporting requirements. Officials were late notifying the county health department and school community after discovering lead exceedances, and failed to report several follow-up test results altogether. Some of the results were never posted to the district website as required, and documentation was lacking to confirm timely submission to the state’s Health Electronic Response Data System (HERDS).
The Comptroller’s Office issued eight formal recommendations, including updating the sampling plan, properly securing exempt outlets, improving recordkeeping, and ensuring timely public notifications.
District officials generally agreed with the findings and must file a corrective action plan within 90 days. The district spans six towns in Ontario County and is governed by a seven-member school board.
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