Latest news with #LeadActionPlan
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
As work continues to clear Milwaukee Public Schools of lead hazards, Starms Early Childhood Center gets a green light
As Milwaukee Public Schools works to repair lead paint hazards at buildings citywide, it announced May 21 that Starms Early Childhood Center is clean and safe. 'The MPS facilities team is making good progress in clearing schools of lead dangers,' MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said in a statement. 'Our students and families have navigated these disruptions with patience, and for that we are grateful. I'm encouraged that we have been able to clear another building of lead dangers and that there is a clear plan moving forward for all our schools.' Students have been displaced from the building since March 17 — over 10 weeks — in response to lead issues. The building was built in 1893. They moved to the nearby, but separate, Starms Discovery Learning Center. "While the building is now ready for occupancy, the school community has asked to remain at the Starms Discovery Learning Center building for the remainder of this school year to limit disruptions to teaching and learning," the district said in a statement. According to a visual inspection report, inspectors found lead dust hazards on floors, horizonal surfaces within kids' reach and class supplies at Starms Early Childhood Center. Chipping and peeling paint was present in classrooms for kids with disabilities, and areas where kids 6 years and younger learn. Between 10% and 50% of paint in the building was in decay, the inspection report said. Starms Early Childhood Center was a top-priority school for lead work, according to a spreadsheet of schools included as part of MPS' Lead Action Plan. MPS said it's weighing several factors when deciding which schools should be remediated first: building age and condition, student population, whether any cases of lead poisoning are associated with the school, and the prevalence of childhood lead poisoning cases in the school neighborhood. As of May 13, MPS said it had inspected 48 schools for lead hazards. The district's lead plan said it will assess 107 schools and correct the issues identified. Starms is among six schools that have closed temporarily this school year due to lead hazards. Those schools together educate about 1,800 kids, 2024-25 state data shows. Students and staff at Brown Street Academy, Westside Academy and LaFollette Elementary School are still displaced as their schools undergo lead remediation. Trowbridge School of Great Lakes Studies and Fernwood Montessori both closed temporarily but have since reopened. More: Milwaukee Public Schools says 48 schools already inspected for lead hazards, with more to come 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@ or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: An MPS school built in 1893 cleared of lead hazards, district says
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
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@ or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS gives reopening timelines on lead work for still-closed schools
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MPS lead crisis; board meeting Thursday, will consider pair of resolutions
The Brief Milwaukee Public Schools could explore legal options available to the district regarding the lead crisis. The board is also working on making its response to the crisis more transparent and accountable. The two items go before the full board at a meeting on Thursday, April 17. MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Directors will meet on Thursday night, April 17 to consider a pair of resolutions focused on the district's lead crisis. Three Milwaukee Public Schools sites remain closed due to lead exposures. What we know The first resolution directs MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius and her staff to work with the Milwaukee city attorney's office on a possible lawsuit. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android Several California cities and counties won $305 million in 2019 after suing lead paint companies. The complaint argued those companies violated the state's "public nuisance law" by advertising lead paint products as "safe." There's just one issue: the parties settled that lawsuit nearly 20 years after it was originally filed. What we know Additionally, the board is working on making its response to the crisis more transparent and accountable. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News Kristen Payne founded the parent group Lead Safe Schools MKE. She said she is encouraged the school board could soon make its lead clean-up work more transparent in a dashboard available to the public. The MPS lead remediation dashboard depends on the district finishing its "Lead Action Plan" in conjunction with the Milwaukee Health Department. What's next The two items go before the full board at a meeting on Thursday, April 17. The Source The Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Directors and Lead Safe Schools MKE provided information.
