OAKLAND, Calif. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) – Parents and teachers are upset about elevated lead levels in drinking water at Oakland schools amid a growing controversy over lead levels in the drinking water of several Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) schools.

Throughout the summer school season, students and staff drank water from fountains at the Frick United Academy of Languages ​​​​and other schools.

Now they are concerned about the effects of lead intake, which include learning disabilities, blood diseases and behavioral problems.

At 22 schools across the OUSD system, basic needs are now classified as uncertain.

“I have a report in my hand that was published in April,” said Stuart Loebl, a sixth-grade teacher in Frick.

Loebl said he was outraged and deeply saddened by the results of the environmental tests, especially because they were carried out months ago.

“So the students have been drinking leaded water all this time, obviously before the report was published, but also afterward, which is annoying,” Loebl explained.

According to Loebl, one water dispenser had a lead level of 51 parts per billion. The OUSD’s maximum allowable lead level is only five parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends remediation if lead levels exceed 15.

“It’s going to be really difficult for them to estimate the exact impact. Figuring that out is potentially going to be a decades-long process and it’s terrible,” Loebl noted.

To prevent even stronger sunlight, the fountains in Frick were covered.

Nate Landry’s daughter is a sixth-grader at Edna Brewer Middle School, one of the other schools with elevated lead levels.

“(Students, their families and staff) should be able to come to school and expect clean drinking water,” Landry said.

Landry believes the district may need to rethink how it spends money to provide the greatest benefit to students.

“$60 million from asset bonds for a new headquarters. Coincidentally, we were told that $60 million was the estimated price to clean up the lead contamination situation in the district,” Landry added.

A teacher at United for Success Academy says the school has had a lead crisis for several years. Photos from the school show that water dispensers were still uncovered and working on Saturday.

Loebl says the district needs to close all drinking fountains, fix the problem and prevent it from ever happening again.

“We need a very comprehensive plan for future testing that is not limited to random sampling,” Loebl said.

Increased testing of drinking water is being conducted in schools across the district, and the number of schools affected by elevated lead levels may increase.