This story was initially revealed by the Illinois Solutions Mission.
Amongst Chicago Public College staff, nobody has been an even bigger cheerleader for an invention designed to scale back harmful quantities of lead in water from faculty consuming fountains than prime administrator Robert Christlieb.
Christlieb, the district’s government director of amenities, operations and upkeep, has labored for a minimum of seven years on the issue of lead in consuming water at CPS faculties, a important challenge for pupil well being.
He’s appeared on panel discussions, in information articles and podcasts to focus on the district’s methods, which has included putting in an invention known as Noah — a tool that routinely flushes pupil consuming fountains on a set schedule to scale back the construct up of lead in stagnant water. Christlieb has touted the machine as a less expensive answer than doing in depth plumbing work in tons of of growing older faculty buildings.
In public, Christlieb says Michael Ramos, who works for a CPS contractor because the chief constructing engineer at Von Steuben Excessive College on the Northwest Aspect, is the inventor of Noah. Christlieb tells the story of how Ramos needed to guard his college students from lead and labored to create a low-cost, dependable machine to just do that.
(Victor Hilitski/For Illinois Solutions Mission)
“Michael [Ramos] has solved the lead downside in public faculties, not simply in Chicago,” Christlieb was quoted as saying in a 2019 Seattle Occasions article,. He added within the story that the district had accredited increasing Noah to 25 faculties as a part of a pilot program. However the enlargement by no means occurred, “attributable to sources, staffing and the COVID-19 pandemic,” in keeping with CPS. For now, the Noah machine is in 5 CPS faculties — three excessive faculties and two elementary.
Christlieb, who makes greater than $170,000 a 12 months at CPS, neglects to say one key element as he tells the story of the machine’s creation.
He’s greater than only a fan of Noah. He’s listed because the co-inventor of the machine he’s been selling for years. Christlieb and Ramos share the U.S. patent for the Noah machine, federal information present.
Nor does he point out that he as soon as fashioned a enterprise with Ramos to promote the machine — a enterprise that has since dissolved.
CPS declined to make any faculty official obtainable to Illinois Solutions Mission reporters to debate the district’s actions. CPS repeatedly didn’t tackle questions relating to whether or not Christlieb violated any of its battle of curiosity insurance policies however stands by him persevering with to advertise autoflushing, regardless of him having a patent on the Noah machine. CPS mentioned Christlieb doesn’t supervise Ramos or oversee the contract with the CPS contractor that employs him.
The district explicitly prohibits its staff from working as a vendor and doing enterprise with the college system. Christlieb fashioned an organization with one among his associates and Ramos in March of 2017 known as RCS Water High quality Options to promote Noah. RCS listed as its company tackle a residence Christlieb owns in Wisconsin.
Within the fall of 2017, CPS says it discovered of the partnership and informed Christlieb that he couldn’t proceed to work at CPS if he didn’t divest.
On the identical day that Christlieb dissolved RCS, he accomplished paperwork to create a brand new enterprise known as Lead Out Manufacturing and listed Ramos because the registered agent. He once more used his residence in Wisconsin as company headquarters, company filings present.
CPS mentioned in an announcement that Christlieb “volunteered” his time to assist Ramos fill out the executive paperwork to arrange Lead Out and allowed Ramos to make use of his Wisconsin tackle however has nothing to do with the corporate.
CPS mentioned it has no proof that Christlieb ever profited from the Noah units. Christlieb wrote in solutions to questions that he didn’t make a revenue, and Ramos, in an interview, agreed that Christlieb by no means made any cash from them. Each males indicated that that they had been interviewed by the CPS inspector common’s workplace relating to their ties to Noah, and no motion was taken in opposition to them.
“Mr. Christlieb helped develop a product that helps take away lead from consuming water and saved his identify on the patent as a matter of mental property,” CPS mentioned in an announcement.
Christlieb used CPS testing knowledge to help the patent for the Noah machine in addition to for a white paper designed to advertise autoflushing at Orr Excessive College, the place Noah had been put in. When requested whether or not Christlieb’s use of the testing knowledge for private use violated CPS coverage, the district famous that water testing knowledge could be obtained by anybody by way of a public data request.
Regardless of Christlieb’s important position within the faculty water testing, CPS argued that the truth that he has a patent on the Noah machine didn’t compromise its water testing.
The district mentioned in an announcement: “CPS implements a proactive lead testing program that goes above and past any state necessities and makes use of the perfect identified practices for testing and stopping lead construct up in consuming water. A flusher system … is in a handful of our greater than 600 faculties and we stand by our district’s proactive practices and testing procedures. The district’s lead mitigation program is overseen by a crew of execs in our amenities division. Mr. Christlieb’s invention of 1 software on this discipline — and that software’s use in a small fraction of the 600-plus faculties within the district — has no influence on the standard or veracity of the district’s program to check for lead, mitigate lead in water and/or restore/resolve for lead in water.”
Conflicting tales
In separate interviews, the 2 males, as soon as companions in promoting the machine, disagree on primary details about who invented the machine, what cash they contributed to get it patented and what roles they performed within the enterprise, known as Lead Out Manufacturing. Christlieb has provided various accounts of his position within the agency, from initially writing in response to questions from reporters that he had 49 p.c possession of Lead Out, to saying in a CPS assertion that he divested from the corporate quickly after it was created, to indicating, in a last CPS assertion, that he was by no means an investor in any respect. Ramos, in an interview, mentioned Christlieb was concerned for “a pair years” in Lead Out.
In an interview, Ramos mentioned he’s the only inventor of Noah and he put Christlieb on the patent to influence Christlieb to develop into a companion with him. Ramos famous that Christlieb as a high-ranking CPS official had “a giant attain” and having him as a part of the corporate may assist gross sales of the machine to different faculty districts. He mentioned that they weren’t “essentially” going to go after CPS enterprise.
“His identify does seem on the patent, however that doesn’t imply that he had something to do with the invention,” Ramos mentioned in an interview with Illinois Solutions reporters earlier this 12 months.
Ramos mentioned initially after they met in 2016 each males “have been mainly planning on beginning a partnership to take it to New York, New Jersey, and do all these different issues, you realize, as a result of Rob has a giant attain. And I felt like, wow, what a greater companion than having Rob, you realize, so … as an indication of like, good religion to, like, attempt to convey him in and say, Rob, you realize, I’ll put you on a patent with me.”
“I’m attempting to introduce this to districts,” Ramos mentioned. “The faculties want it. I figured that is one thing that’s inexpensive, the districts may use. Why wouldn’t I attain out to somebody like Rob, who has the title, who has the identify and has the respect within the trade?”
Earlier this 12 months, Houston Public Colleges discovered elevated lead ranges inside some faculty buildings, prompting Ramos to textual content Christlieb.
“Good morning Rob, that is one other candidate for Noah. Is there any method you possibly can attain out to them? I can attain out, however they often don’t reply as a result of i appear to return throughout as promoting snake oil. If it comes from you, they may see it as legitimate.” Information supplied by CPS don’t embrace Christlieb’s response.
Ramos mentioned the lads labored collectively for a pair years attempting to promote the machine to highschool districts throughout the nation however by no means realized a lot success. Ramos mentioned he and Christlieb parted methods after he realized the association may look suspect to CPS however argued the lads by no means did something fallacious and that Christlieb by no means obtained any cash from the corporate.
In an interview at Von Steuben Excessive College in December final 12 months, Christlieb credited Ramos with inventing the machine and marveled at how Ramos was in a position to construct what Christlieb may solely take into consideration. He talked about how simply the month earlier than he got here out to Von Steuben Excessive College, the place Ramos labored, to see his Noah machine, he had simply been considering the month earlier than about such an invention.
“So the attention-grabbing factor was, earlier than I got here out right here in October of 2016, to see what he had carried out. In September of 2016, I had sat down one night time, and I sketched out the concept of doing a bypass filter and having some kind of controller on it,” Christlieb mentioned within the interview with Illinois Solutions reporters. “And I’m like, ’Man if I may construct one thing like this.’ However I didn’t have the talent set, proper? And Michael did, and Michael should have been listening to me throughout town as a result of we didn’t know one another at the moment after which rapidly I’m being known as out right here a month later and I’m like that is precisely what I hoped for. However somebody was really in a position to put it collectively and the idea works and the mechanics work. It’s quite simple … Simplicity is vital for us.”
After reporters found that Christlieb’s identify was on the patent, they tried to interview him at his Wisconsin tackle the place he was staying. He declined to reply questions in individual however responded to a set of written questions.
Christlieb wrote that he was on the patent as a result of he had made substantial contributions to the invention of Noah. He didn’t reply follow-up questions that requested him to element these contributions.
The boys additionally disagree on different points relating to the patent. Ramos mentioned he paid all of the authorized charges for the patent work on the Noah machine. Christlieb, although, mentioned he contributed about $5,000 for the authorized work. The patent was granted to Ramos and Christlieb in 2021.
CPS supplied two paperwork that it mentioned confirmed that Christlieb had nothing to do with Lead Out. One is a the newest Wisconsin company submitting that reveals Ramos is the registered agent for the agency, however whereas Christlieb’s identify isn’t on the doc, it doesn’t tackle possession. The doc lists Lead Out’s company tackle as Christlieb’s Wisconsin tackle.
The opposite doc supplied by CPS and Christlieb entails him assigning his rights to the patent on the Noah machine to Lead Out. The doc is dated June 2018, greater than six months after Lead Out was fashioned. The doc is signed by Christlieb, however not by Ramos, and as soon as once more lists Christlieb’s Wisconsin tackle as Lead Out’s company tackle.
Beginning with Flint
The district started specializing in assessing its consuming water in 2016 after the water disaster in Flint, Michigan, and started a 10-year testing program by sampling its over 12,000 water fixtures for lead ranges.
Within the first 12 months of testing, 60% of the 490 faculties examined returned a minimum of one pattern with a lead degree over 5 elements per billion, exceeding the state’s motion degree for lead in water. Final 12 months, the district examined 174 faculties, and 92, or 53%, had a minimum of one pattern exceeding the state restrict.
Since changing all lead pipes may value as much as $2.5 billion, in keeping with district estimates, CPS first targeted on limiting the stagnant water in pipes, the place lead collects, by having constructing engineers manually flush all consuming water taps in its 528 campuses. Constructing engineers, tasked with sustaining the HVAC, electrical and plumbing techniques, are required by district protocols to flush faculties after a “interval of nonattendance,” similar to a weekend or break, as soon as per week.
At a campus like Von Steuben, the place Ramos works, guide flushing would require him and his crew of two engineers to individually run the water on all 42 fixtures within the faculty for 3 minutes earlier than college students arrive on Monday or after a protracted break, Ramos mentioned. Moreover, they might nonetheless want to finish different tasks similar to preventative upkeep and repairs earlier than college students arrive. Consultants say that whereas flushing can lower lead ranges, the guide course of doesn’t assure water is secure to drink as a result of it’s susceptible to human error. The district employs 685 engineers who oversee 800 buildings, which means some engineers cowl a number of faculties.
Christlieb and Ramos argue that Noah works effectively as a result of the machine routinely flushes the water fountains and doesn’t depend on staff to do it.
Along with Von Steuben, the units have been added to consuming fountains in CPS faculties at Orr Excessive College, Belding Elementary, Onahan Elementary and Kelvyn Park Excessive College.
All of the units put in at CPS faculties have been donated by Ramos or bought by native faculty councils. There aren’t any information exhibiting that CPS has minimize a examine to Lead Out Manufacturing, however in some cases, CPS paid a contractor to put in the units. The units value about $395.
The units even have been put in at two suburban faculty districts — Crete-Monee College District and Indian Springs College District 109, in keeping with paperwork obtained by Illinois Solutions.
Years of selling autoflushing — and Noah
Christlieb has promoted the Noah machine for years, at occasions utilizing CPS sources, beginning as early as July 2017.
In that month, Christlieb drafted a case research in regards to the Noah flushing system at Orr Academy. And Christlieb shared the Orr case research broadly to a number of faculty districts and metropolis governments utilizing his CPS electronic mail account.
In March of 2019, he appeared in a Chicago Well being Journal article that promoted autoflushing and appeared in a photograph with Ramos within the story.
In a podcast interview, Christlieb mentioned he put in Noah in his own residence and that it labored “completely.”
And as not too long ago as Might of this 12 months, Christlieb, utilizing his CPS title, appeared with Ramos as a visitor speaker at a Noah-hosted seminar for Chicago Water Week, through which he mentioned the Orr Excessive College pilot program and Noah’s profit to the district.
CPS emails and textual content messages present that Christlieb and Ramos additionally talked throughout the workday about selling Noah to varsities in Chicago similar to Metropolis Schools and out of doors Illinois together with Philadelphia Public Colleges and New York Metropolis Public Colleges.
Christlieb seems to have performed a task in efforts at establishing Noah’s credibility as an efficient answer.
In March of 2021, Christlieb emailed the white paper he wrote on Noah’s use at Orr as effectively tons of of pages of testing knowledge to a Philadelphia faculty official, who was within the invention and who thanked him for his time “explaining the advantages of your Noah system.”
Christlieb responded to the official by telling him who else at CPS was concerned within the challenge.
“For Noah,” Christlieb added, “I’d advocate speaking with Michael Ramos.”
Cam Rodriguez is a former knowledge reporter for the Illinois Solutions Mission, now serving a fellowship at The New York Occasions. Jewél Jackson covers schooling for Illinois Solutions.
