September 1, 2020

Dear Families –

While we expect school to remain online for the near future due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are also preparing for a return to in-person learning as soon as it is safe to bring students and staff back to school.

Access to clean and safe drinking water continues to be a part of our discussions about a safe in-person learning experience. As you may remember, water filtration stations were installed during the 2019-20 school year. The systems have been going through testing both on-site at our schools, and in the research labs at Kettering University. We have received questions as to why these systems are not yet ready to use, and want to provide an update regarding the status of these stations.

During testing, it was determined that a reconfiguration of the systems will be needed. That process is underway, and testing is expected to resume soon. Water stations will not be active until testing is complete.

The district continues to work with our partners—including Kettering University and Murdock Manufacturing—to make sure the stations will be up and running as soon as possible. It is our hope that we will be able to begin using the water stations when school returns in-person, but we will only do so when we are confident in the ability to ensure safe drinking water for our students and staff. As always, the safety of our school community is our first priority, and we will not compromise water quality in favor of a faster timeline.

Additional updates can be viewed on the district website, www.flintschools.org. We are dedicated to your child’s learning and thank you for your ongoing support.

Your partner in education,

Mrs. Anita J. Steward

Superintendent

To read Superintendent Steward September 1 updates on water filtration stations, visit this link: https://4.files.edl.io/c466/09/02/20/143025-92e3dae3-29f1-46fe-af7a-3bd7ddb8c1b1.pdf