MPS Closing Two More Schools For Lead Hazards

Westside Academy in 2023. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Two more Milwaukee Public Schools buildings will close following the discovery of lead hazards.

The district and Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) announced Monday that MPS will shutter Westside Academy on May 5 and Brown Street Academy on May 12. The schools will be closed for the remainder of the school year, which lasts through mid-June, and students and staff will be temporarily relocated to Andrew S. Douglas Middle School.

“I know moving a school is incredibly disruptive to our students, to our families and to our staff. I can’t express my sincere gratitude enough to everyone for their patience, their understanding and partnership,” said Superintendent Brenda Cassellius at a press conference Monday morning.

She said there is “no immediate danger” in the buildings and no students have tested positive for elevated blood lead levels in connection with either school. But with Fernwood Montessori School reopening last Friday, capacity was available to relocate students and address other buildings. The schools were selected because of their age and condition.

Newly-released reports from MHD show several areas in both schools with chipping paint, a common source of lead dust.

Two other schools that were closed alongside Fernwood in March, Starms Early Childhood Center and Robert M. LaFollette School, remain closed and are expected to reopen “in the coming weeks.” The first school the health department closed, Trowbridge School of Great Lakes Studies, was closed for two weeks in early March.

“There are other buildings we will work on this year that will not require full relocations,” said Cassellius of work restricted to specific rooms or areas. “We are in the process of determining that work currently.”

Cassellius also announced that the district is now moving forward with a MHD-approved lead safety plan.

The district intends to conduct visual assessments and environmental sampling at each of its schools that serve elementary students and were built before 1978, the year lead paint was federally banned.

“We assume that all of those schools have lead in them, but that does not necessarily mean there is danger,” said Cassellius.

The district anticipates completing cleanup work in all buildings built before 1950, 54 schools in total, by the start of the next school year. Cassellius said the remaining 52 schools built before 1978 would have remediation work completed by the end of the calendar year.

The work has already cost the district close to $2 million, up from an earlier report of $1.8 million. Cassellius said a final estimate for completing the entire remediation plan was not yet available, but would be included in the upcoming budget debate.

“All costs will be paid by the district and not individual schools,” said the superintendent.

Over a three-decade period, MHD trimmed its staff of painters from 34 to five. It also placed maintenance costs related to painting on the individual schools. “There will be new investments moving forward,” said Cassellius.

“We are really pleased with the progress that has happened so far,” said Health Commissioner Michael Totoraitis. He praised Cassellius, who started in her position in March, for addressing the issue. MPS facilities manager Sean Kane “separated” from the district and Cassellius was loaned MHD home environmental health program manager Michael Mannan to assist with rebuilding the district’s lead-safe practices.

Mannan said Monday that 35 to 40 schools have been visually inspected.

Totoraitis said MHD has not identified any new cases tied to schools, but continues to evaluate referrals. The crisis started in January when the city’s childhood lead poisoning case management program revealed children whose blood lead levels did not decrease after home remediation was completed.

No amount of lead is safe, and the heavy metal poses a substantial risk for children, who can experience developmental delays, learning difficulties, behavioral problems and other serious health issues.

Children aged six and under are recommended to be screened annually for lead exposure, which can occur through acute or cumulative exposure. Totoraitis said MHD is weighing whether it should revise its recommendations.

MHD had previously requested federal technical assistance in triaging the situation and designing a widespread testing strategy, but the positions for the specialists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were eliminated.

Now the city, said the commissioner, is exploring contracting with those lead experts after their federal administrative leave expires.

“There is some discussion that we might bring them on temporarily to help in this moment,” said Totoraitis.

Information on free blood-lead testing clinics can be obtained on the MHD website or by contacting your pediatrician or physician. A public clinic is scheduled for May 7 at North Division High School.

Westside Academy, previously known as 31st Street School, was constructed in 1895. Brown Street Academy, historically the Ninth District Primary School, was constructed in 1897. In addition to the age of their original building, both schools have multiple pre-1978 additions.

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