MILWAUKEE — Three Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) schools remain closed for a fifth week, as crews work to clean up lead hazards inside of them.

Starms Early Childhood Center, Fernwood Montessori and LaFollete school have not been open to students and staff since Friday, March 14.

A group of parents are growing a grassroots advocacy group called Lead Safe Schools MKE. The group is circulating an online petition demanding more answers from MPS and the Milwaukee Health Department (MHD).

It's also encouraging Milwaukee residents to call the Milwaukee Mayor’s Office, Common Council members and state representatives to demand quicker action in lead remediation.

In an Instagram post Monday, Lead Safe Schools MKE called out Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson for not doing more when the city owns MPS buildings.

“At the end of the day, we believe that the city has a lot of responsibility in this situation, because they own those buildings,” said Ron Jansen, MPS parent and organizer of Lead Safe Schools MKE. “The mayor’s input is really important. He should be seeking financial assistance for the district, whether that be loans, grants, so we can lift the district out of this crisis. My message would be, that we have seen you drag your feet on the lead crisis in Milwaukee long enough.”

According to state statutes, the City of Milwaukee does own most MPS buildings, but maintenance, repair, safety and renovation of all buildings used for school purposes are the responsibility of the Milwaukee School Board.

The Mayor’s Office declined an interview request Tuesday, but sent Spectrum News 1 this statement:

"First, the Mayor has taken an active role in identifying and rectifying the lead paint problems in Milwaukee Public Schools. He has invested significant time and personnel costs the address the issues.  He has loaned expert personnel to the school district. He has worked cooperatively with MPS to resolve the dangers students face.

"Yes, under the law, the city 'owns' the school buildings.  However, the legal responsibility for maintaining the buildings is unambiguously in the hands of the school board.  I will refer you to Wisconsin State Statutes. They very clearly delineate who is responsible for building repair and maintenance:

"119.16 Board; duties.

"(1m) Management of school district. The board shall have the possession, care, control and management of the schools, facilities, operations, property and affairs of the school district.

"And

"(3m) Master facilities plan.

"(b) The board shall establish criteria to evaluate the safety, structural integrity, utility, and costs of maintenance and repair of school buildings in the school district. Subject to the requirements under sub. (10), the criteria shall include consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of repairing versus demolishing older buildings having high maintenance or operating costs.

"Any accusation that the city has dropped the ball in school maintenance is completely without merit."

On April 3, MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius announced Mikhail Mannan, who runs MHD’s Home Environmental Health Program, will now work with the district full-time to address the lead hazards and cleanup efforts in schools.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) denied a request from MHD to help manage lead hazards at MPS. 

“I sincerely regret to inform you that due to the complete loss of our Lead Program, we will be unable to support you with this EpiAid request," Aaron Bernstein, director of the Center for Environmental Health and of the CDC, said in a message to City of Milwaukee officials.

While Johnson was on CNN Monday night, he said he’s disappointed the CDC is unable to help. He also acknowledged that Milwaukee leaders and MPS administrators have a plan to address the issue.

“We've got dozens and dozens of other schools that have to be inspected,” Johnson said on CNN. “So, over the course of the next several weeks and months we'll be taking on that process working collaboratively with MPS in order to do that. My health department is working with the district in order to have a comprehensive plan in order to go through that.”

Cassellius has not indicated how MPS will pay for all this. But she has assured the community it will not come out of individual school budgets. So far, lead remediation at the seven schools found to have dangers have cost MPS nearly $2 million.

MPS Board members Missy Zombor and Megan O'Halloran have submitted a draft resolution they hope to bring before the Board next month.

Zombor, a member at large of the school board, said the main objectives of the resolution would be to:

• Direct the administration to establish clear lead safety administrative policies and procedures that include key practices and expectations from the MPS Lead Action Plan, once approved by the Milwaukee Health Department
• Create a regular reporting schedule to the Board on progress made towards the MPS Lead Action Plan, including paint-related work order data and response times, as well as staffing levels of workers dedicated to lead safety and surveillance within the district
• Create a public-facing dashboard to show progress made toward the MPS Lead Action Plan recommendations
• Require lead surveillance documentation be added to annual school audits
• Create a reporting tool on the MPS website

“We believe there needs to be accessible communication to our families and staff about what work is being planned, how that work is prioritized, how families can be assured that work is being completed safely, and the communication protocols families and staff can expect moving forward,” said Zombor, who is pushing for MPS families and staff to have the same immediate access to information the board has in real-time, moving forward.