MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools in partnership with the Milwaukee Health Department released its Lead Action Plan on April 28th as both organizations begin to transition to the next phase of the lead remediation across the district.
As part of the next phase, plans were discussed to close two additional schools including Brown Street Academy and Westside Academy as the district looks to hire external lead removal contractors and keep faculty and parents notified at all times whenever new updates are available.
The Milwaukee Health Department tells WTMJ News that it found significant areas of deteriorated paint throughout both buildings. Given that both schools were built in the 1800s, this presents a notable concern for lead hazards.
Both schools will be closed for the rest of the academic year as MPS has hired two separate contractors currently involved with district-wide clean ups. One contractor is handling renovation work, and the other is focused on cleaning and decluttering.
In a special meeting for the district board of directors on April 30, Interim Chief School Administration Officer Michael Harris offered more insight into how the lead action plan would take steps that go beyond remediation.
“When it comes to remediation, we know there are three areas, we need to conduct lead stabilization using certified personnel- that can be internal or external supports to help us with this work,” said Harris. “We also know that we need to isolate work areas during renovation. We require the full containment using all of the tools and resources that we have to ensure that we isolate the work. Then, we need to implement aggressive desk control measures across all our facilities. It’s no secret that our buildings are old and we know that a lot of work is being done to update those buildings to ensure the safety of students and staff.”
The implementation of the lead action plan will also help streamline operations according the MHD.
In an email sent to WTMJ News, MHD officials state that the lead action plan has, “introduced several changes, most notably a strong emphasis on following DHS 163 work practices, which are state-regulated procedures that prioritize quality and safety in lead hazard remediation. These practices can increase turnaround times at some schools, depending on the complexity of the building and the extent of hazards found. While this approach may extend the timeline, it ensures safer, higher-quality outcomes in the long term.”
With the impact of lead on public schools, the lead action plan states that any issues with lead in certain buildings will be taken into consideration as part of the district’s long range facilities master plan. MPS has kept in mind that any buildings built before 1950 are potentially more hazardous than buildings built between 1951 and 1978, though all buildings built prior to 1978 have some form of lead.
MPS plans to complete its stabilization efforts for 54 schools built prior to 1950 by the end of the summer break in 2025. The district will then spend the rest of calendar year completing stabilization efforts in schools built between 1950–1978.
As part of MPS standard operating practices, the district and MHD will also engage in water filtration to remove any lead found in district water sources.
Whether school buildings will close entirely or partially are dependent on how much lead dust is located within rooms and halls.
- In the case of full-building shutdowns, visual inspections finding more than 50% of rooms in a building with lead hazards and disruptions will result in both faculty and students being relocated to a different MPS facility.
- Any buildings with visual inspections that show between 10% to 50% will close partially as students and faculty will move to different parts of the building as remediation takes place.
Students and faculty with closed schools will move temporarily to either Andrew Douglas Middle School, Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning, or South Division High School.
With lead remediation continuing for what will be most likely the rest of the 2025 calendar year, MPS Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius acknowledged the district needs to consider other options.
“As I’ve shared with the public, it’s no surprise that our buildings are old. You will hear me continue to urge our leaders and all of us to think about rebuild. 85 years of a building is just too much,” said Dr. Cassellius. “It’s eventually going to break down and we are wasting money continuing to try to remediate lead paint in buildings that are on concrete. It’s an incredible task what the team has done to go in an clean these schools up and then continue to maintain them and spend millions of dollars, go in and replace all the plumbing… I just think we have some reckoning to do here as a community.”
Dr. Cassellius says the district’s current priority is to keep MPS students safe from lead exposure, but points out that some buildings in the district need to go.
“I can assure you as superintendent, we are not sparing any cost at this time. We feel the urgency. One child a high lead level is too high, and too much,” said Dr. Cassellius. “Our team is rallying and we are probably using every paying contractor who is lead certified in the community and across the state and calling on getting more for the summer to get this work done. We have children centered in every decision that we make and their safety is our top priority, but we have to get to a point of having a conversation with our community about rebuilds.”
The district plans to host another lead testing clinic for students on May 7th at North Division High School from 2:30 to 6:30 P.M. with a limited capacity for 300 students.
