Milwaukee schools closed due to lead: Fernwood to open, LaFollette needs weeks more work
Students at LaFollette Elementary School will spend four to five more weeks displaced from their building while it is cleared of lead paint hazards, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said during an April 17 school board meeting.
The necessary renovation and painting work at LaFollette began on April 15, the earliest available date a contractor was available, Cassellius said.
LaFollette, Fernwood Montessori School and Starms Early Childhood Center students and staff have already been displaced for five weeks since March 17. They were temporarily relocated to other schools without being given clear dates when they would return.
Fernwood Montessori students and staff will be able to return on April 23 if all goes as planned, Cassellius said. That's because renovation and painting is complete, and the school is now being deep-cleaned. It is scheduled for an inspection by the city of Milwaukee Health Department on April 21.
At Starms, renovation and painting work is about 75% complete. That work should be finished by the end of April, Cassellius said, which will be followed by cleaning and an inspection by the city.
"Our teams remains committed to doing all that we can to confront the lead remediation work that is ongoing in our district," Cassellius said.
Last week, more than 250 people attended a virtual town hall for parents and guardians of students at the seven MPS schools where lead hazards have been discovered.
During the school board meeting, Cassellius said last week's event included "repeated calls from families to increase our communications to them on the status of the work happening in their buildings."
"We are committed to doing that," she said Thursday.
The city and MPS will publish a formal Lead Action Plan to address ongoing issues "in the coming days," Cassellius said.
A resolution by board member Missy Zombor directs MPS to consult with the Office of the City Attorney "in order to explore legal options to hold lead paint companies accountable … for costs associated with remediating lead paint that continues to pose health risks."
MPS should not have to "shoulder the burden" of replacing repairing or maintaining buildings that contain lead risks, the resolution said.
The school board considered that item in closed session during Thursday night's meeting.
During a board meeting on April 22, the school board will consider another resolution on lead safety proposed by Zombor and board member Megan O'Halloran. If approved, it would require changes to the district's system for managing facilities maintenance requests, protocols for communicating with parents and guardians about lead work being done in their schools, and other changes.
That lead safety resolution would also require monthly reports on the implementation of the Lead Action Plan "until all initial school assessments and recommendations are complete."
Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit jsonline.com/rfa.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS gives reopening timelines on lead work for still-closed schools
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