Dear Parents, Guardians, Faculty and Staff Members,
On Sunday, August 2, 2014, many residents in the Perrysburg School District and throughout Greater Toledo were not able to drink or use tap water in their homes or businesses. All six of the Perrysburg School District buildings were impacted as well. The purpose of this letter is to share with parents and residents our response if this event were to occur again during the school year. Like many of you, we are learning more and more about Lake Erie, the environment and algae blooms. Unfortunately, this may become a reoccurring threat for us to contend with for some time.
If this occurs during the school year, families and the district will need to partner in order for school to remain in session for as long as possible. To be successful in our efforts, we need your help.
The school district does stockpile some bottled water to provide students with drinking water in the event there is another ban on drinking tap water. With over 5,000 students in the district, it would not take long for this inventory to become depleted if students have no other sources of drinking water. We are asking that families have bottled water set aside at home and to provide students with some drinking water during the day if we are once again unable to drink tap water. This will enable the district to have time to find, order and have delivered additional drinking water for the school day.
During the 2014 algae bloom, we also learned that we could not use tap water to prepare meals or wash dishes. As a result, we are asking that parents prepare lunches for their children during any time that tap water is unavailable. The district has set aside several menu options that do not require water in its preparation. However, if every student wants a school lunch, the district would not be able to serve prepared meals for very long. Encouraging those students who can to bring a lunch during this time will enable the district to order additional food items that do not require water for their preparation. By planning ahead and with your help, we will be able to continue to serve food to students.
The district has secured enough paper products to serve meals for a short period of time, avoiding the need to wash dishes, which would be impossible to do if the tap water becomes unsafe.
We have been in contact with the Wood County Health Department and shared our response with them.
The algae bloom of 2014 reminded us not to take something so simple and plentiful as water for granted. Alone, the district would not be able to meet all of its students needs for an extended period of time. However, with the proper planning and your help, learning will be able to continue uninterrupted.
Let’s hope that this plan will never be needed.
Sincerely,
Thomas L. Hosler
Superintendent