Fairport facilities staff report system upgrades, prepare for stricter lead-testing rules

At a Fairport Central School District board workshop, facilities staff updated the board on staffing, a new work-order system rollout and plans to comply with tighter state lead-in-water testing rules.

The presentation focused on three near-term items: filling custodial vacancies, completing a more accurate work-order and inventory system, and preparing for a tightened lead threshold and more frequent sampling. Aaron, a facilities staff member, told the board the district currently has “9 vacancies out of custodial operations out of almost 60” and that summer labor hiring had improved but that recruiting remains a challenge.

The facilities team has rebuilt a work-order system to standardize room and inventory identifiers and to auto-generate related requests to IT, custodial and maintenance staff. Aaron said the district received about 1,659 submitted work-order emails since Jan. 1, with 1,407 closed and about 180 outstanding as of two days before the workshop. He also said the district handled roughly 12,000 scheduled events across the school year and that the new system reduces manual follow-up by mandating required fields and creating sub-work orders automatically.

Why it matters: the district expects state and federal changes that will raise compliance duties and require notifications and signage for many fixtures. Facilities staff said frequent, accurate records will be needed to meet audit and notification requirements.

Lead testing and compliance

Aaron described upcoming changes to drinking-water testing and compliance timelines that the board should expect. The state’s testing cadence has shortened from every five years to every three years, and the action level for remediation has fallen over successive rounds from 15 parts per billion to 10 and now to 5 parts per billion. Aaron said, “No amount of lead is good for you,” noting the public-health rationale for the lower threshold.

District staff said the strategy has been to install filtered bottle-filling stations so the district will still meet applicable outlet requirements even if many older classroom bubblers (fountain “bubblers”) are taken out of service. The district plans sampling during October–November so results will be available by the compliance deadline at the end of the calendar year. Staff also said results will trigger required notifications to families: under current guidance, the district will have about 10 days to prepare and distribute printed notices to all affected building families.

Staffing, costs and state aid

Facilities staff said the district uses third-party contractors for sampling and that the district will submit state aid paperwork (ST-3 and related building-aid forms) to recover a portion of testing and remediation costs. Aaron said the aid is not a one-for-one reimbursement; the district typically receives roughly $0.74 in building aid for each dollar spent on an aidable building expense, leaving a local share to cover. He also said testing and remediation are treated as building aid items and — based on staff review — should not reduce other building-aid maximums.

Audits and signage

Staff warned that the State Comptroller’s recent audits of other districts highlighted more stringent definitions of “applicable” outlets (for example, science lab faucets and custodial mop sinks typically remain non-applicable, while other sinks and fountains will require testing or signage). The comptroller audited about 40 districts, and the facilities team said Fairport will adopt more visible signage, training and documentation so the district’s practices align with audit expectations.

Large maintenance priorities

Aaron also reviewed capital and large-maintenance items drawn from the building condition survey: pool lighting and repairs, bleacher and fence work, HVAC and isolated AC needs, flooring and drinking fountain remediation. He said some projects are time‑sensitive and that capital planning — including a proposed K–8 project — still requires design, board approval and bidding before work can proceed.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of agenda: Bridal, board member, moved; Nicole, board member, seconded. Vote recorded as 6–0 in favor. - Motion to enter executive session: Jan, board member, moved; Bridal, board member, seconded. Vote recorded as 6–0 in favor.

Ending

Facilities staff asked the board to expect more detailed updates during budget season and ahead of the next round of lead testing. Board members asked questions about classroom access to water, impacts for youngest students and whether capital projects would address plumbing replacements during renovations. Staff replied that fixtures inside remodeled classrooms would be replaced as part of capital work but that comprehensive in‑wall plumbing replacement is typically beyond what is addressed in spot renovations.