Lead crisis in Milwaukee schools; health officials answer questions

MPS schools closed until after spring break

Three MPS schools closed to students because of lead hazards will not reopen until after spring break, officials said.

MILWAUKEE - Three Milwaukee Public Schools closed to students because of lead hazards will not reopen until after spring break, officials said on Friday, March 28. This, as cleanup and renovations are made.

Fielding questions

What we know:

Officials with the Milwaukee Health Department made themselves available on Friday, March 28 to answer questions regarding the lead crisis within Milwaukee Public Schools.

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Tyler Weber, the Milwaukee Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Health, did not have an official statement on Friday. Instead, he answered questions from the media for roughly 30 minutes.

The Milwaukee Health Department recently identified seven schools with unsafe lead levels. Three remain closed. They are LaFollette, Starms Early Childhood Center and Fernwood Montessori. They will remain closed even after spring break, Weber said. Students are attending classes in other buildings.

Lead crisis in Milwaukee schools; health department update

Officials with the Milwaukee Health Department offered an update on Friday, March 28 regarding the lead crisis within Milwaukee Public Schools.

Weber also spoke of lead testing clinics. In particular, he suggested the city may try to get testing in individual schools in the future.

"There is a potential we're exploring with MPS to hire a third party or third parties to go into the schools," Weber said. "We don't have the capacity to go in and set up lead screening clinics in each school, but potentially other organizations could. And that's a key piece of this plan that's being worked out."

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Weber was also asked about an action plan for Milwaukee Public Schools – and what that plan might include for the school district.

"Action plan will include an improvement on their plan they already have," Weber said. "So how do they do lead safe work? How do they potentially onboard more contractors? Because we're going to need to work at a more faster, urgent pace than is happening now. You're going to potentially see a schedule of what schools would be cleaned and went thoroughly for lead hazards. I think just more details of how the work would be conducted."