Auburn School District officials say a review of 2008 water quality tests identified a dozen drinking fixtures with elevated lead levels in nine buildings.

Retesting of those fixtures began this week, and school officials expect to learn about the results within two weeks.

Schools from which at least one drinking fixture has been removed from service per the 2008 tests are: Auburn Riverside and West Auburn high schools; Cascade, Mt. Baker and Olympic middle schools; and Dick Scobee, Gildo Rey, Lake View and Terminal Park elementary schools.

“The well-being of our students and staff in Auburn is the highest priority for us in the Auburn School District,” Superintendent Alan Spicciati said during a news conference last Friday.

ASD’s 2008 study, which Now Environmental Services of Federal Way conducted as part of the district’s Capital Facilities Master Plan, identified 20 water fixtures with lead levels greater than 15 parts per billion.

The Environmental Protection Agency has established 15 parts per billion as the threshold. Anything greater mandates remediation.

“Of the 20 fixtures with elevated levels of lead, eight of them have already been mitigated,” Spicciati said. “Unfortunately, at this time we cannot verify steps were taken to correct the other fixtures.

“What we could not locate is records that those fixtures had been addressed or replaced,” Spicciati said. “With the absence of that information, we think the prudent thing to do is shut those fixtures off until we can have them retested and confirm that they were replaced or repaired correctly. I ordered we go a step beyond and test all drinking fountains and sinks.”

Spicciati, who has been in his role since last July, said he and other district officials elected to review the drinking water at all schools based on recent reports of lead in water nationally and within the state. He said he learned about the 2008 report on the afternoon of May 2, and the district shut off water to the fixtures in question the next day. The district notified all teachers via email last Friday, Spicciati said, while students received a letter to notify their parents or guardians on that day as well.

In addition to examining the 12 fixtures, Spicciati said, testing begins next month on all of the district’s schools and facilities, with an eye toward finishing up before classes resume in September. ASD officials, he said, are coordinating with King County Health, the City of Auburn and the State Department of Health, “on water testing protocols and resources for our families.”

“I want to assure parents that we’re doing everything we can and everything we must to address these issues,” Spicciati said.

Spicciati said he also has been in contact with colleagues in Tacoma Public Schools, where an employee was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the testing and reporting protocol after unreviewed results from May 2015 “showed unacceptable levels of lead in the water,” according to district officials. Spicciati said his district is looking to determine if someone failed to take action based on ASD’s 2008 water study.

“That’s something we’re investigating, and we’ll hopefully have answers before this whole episode is over because we really want to learn about our processes and learn what happens in all of our support departments,” he said. “This is an opportunity for us to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”