MPS lead exposure; parents demand transparency, leaders to release findings
The Brief
The Milwaukee Health Department will release the Lead Risk Assessment findings for each inspected MPS facility to ensure transparency.
Tests were conducted following individual cases of high blood lead levels in students.
Parents are demanding transparency from school and health officials.
MILWAUKEE - After dangerous levels of lead were found in two Milwaukee Public Schools buildings, parents want answers about the risk to their children.
What we know
The Milwaukee Health Department will release the Lead Risk Assessment (LRA) findings for each inspected MPS facility to ensure transparency. The Golda Meir Lower Campus LRA will be made public on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Local perspective
Kristen Payne's child is a student at Golda Meir. She and other parents are hesitant to send their kids to school after the Milwaukee health department found high levels of lead there.
"Why on earth did we get to this to begin with?" Payne asked. "To me something is just not adding up with the prevention piece."
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Last week, MPS and the MHD said Kagel Elementary School also had high levels of lead. Now parents are questioning why this wasn't caught earlier and say the information they are getting is confusing.
Payne started a petition asking for clarity.
"This is about getting answers to what went wrong and why the communication is so horrendous at this juncture and why we are getting the message schools are safe – but there is an immediate and serious risk to health and safety," Payne said.
MPS says they want to be transparent but have not yet received the full report.
In the meantime, MPS facilities and maintenance senior director Sean Kane says the district is proactively doing enhanced cleaning, and remediation.
"Whenever you have training policies that you do lead paint renovator tactics and practices that we do have certified people that are on facilities staff that have that training and perform those tasks and meet those needs," Kane said. "Our schools are safe. And again, I do understand the concern of some of the information that has been shared out and again we are trying to be open and transparent about things."
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To maintain safe facilities, MPS must fully adhere to MHD's directives on lead hazard cleaning, remediation, and abatement.
If MHD determines that MPS is not following its safety measure directives, MHD will explore additional enforcement actions as necessary.
The Source
The Milwaukee Health Department and Milwaukee Public Schools provided information.
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