MPS lead update: Goal is to test all pre-1950 schools by end of summer

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The interim facilities director for Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) told families Monday the district plans to dramatically ramp up its efforts to test schools for lead during the summer. Mike Turza said MPS hopes to have each school built before 1950 tested before the 2025-26 school year begins.

So far, health inspectors have found dangerously high lead levels in seven MPS schools; three of them have been closed since March 17.

At a community meeting organized by the Coalition on Lead Emergency (COLE) at Hephatha Lutheran Church, interim MPS facilities director Mike Turza said the district currently has the capacity to clean three schools at a time. He said the district's testing abilities would expand significantly this summer.

"In the summer, we will be bringing in probably about 130 staff people," Turza said. "To do just some massive work."

MPS officials have previously estimated 133 schools could potentially have high lead levels. That figure is based on the number of buildings that had painting done before 1978, when the federal government banned the use of lead-based paints. 

Turza told families Monday the increased staffing flexibility over the summer would mean MPS can finish testing and remediating each school built before 1950.

"And then over the course of the next couple of months [at the start of the 2025-26 year], we’ll do the remaining 52 buildings," he said.

By that math, MPS would have tested 81 other schools by the time a new school year begins in September. 

One of the schools currently closed is Fernwood Montessori. Some of the initial cleaning work there was done improperly, extending the closure. Lisa Lucas, whose daughter, Esme, is a 1st grader at Fernwood, said she was relieved her daughter will soon be back in her school after spending the last five weeks at Douglas Middle School.

The delays are one of the issues that led to parent frustration at an online town hall earlier this month.

"We didn't find out there was a mistake [at Fernwood] until the state issued a health order about it letting us know that work was done incorrectly in her classroom," Lucas said. "And they were gonna have to take longer to remediate the remediation of it."

Turza declined to take questions from reporters following the meeting Monday. MPS has yet to announce when it will release a complete lead action plan, which it has been drafting with the Milwaukee Health Department.

The process of testing more than 100 MPS schools got more difficult when the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) told city health officials they wouldn't be able to help with the process due to federal cuts under the Trump administration.

Turza told families Monday the plan will include a dashboard where families can see which schools are up next for testing and cleaning. He also took questions from the audience.

In response to a question about how the district will decide which schools get tested first, Turza said one key factor will be where students spend the most time in a particular building.

"If they were in the basement, that's a little more serious than if they're on the third floor," he said.

Monday's event included a lead testing station in the church basement, as well as grocery bags for attendees, which COLE provides every other Monday. Shyquetta McElroy said COLE's goal was to get more parents involved.

"The most important thing that I hope parents learn is their role," she said. "It's gonna take the community to step up and get educated themselves to then, in turn, educate other parents." 

The MPS school board discussed last week the possibility of suing lead paint makers as a means of getting money to pay for the extensive testing. Turza said the funds, if needed internally, would come from a construction fund the district has and not from MPS' operating budget.

Turza said the district's goal was to have every school tested by the end of 2025. 

"I'm glad that they're getting and hiring new staff to have the work done over the summer," Lucas said. "But I want all children in Milwaukee to make sure they're safe from lead, too, not just mine."