Milwaukee (CBS 58) -- Parents of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) students gathered at the city's east branch library to discuss the district's ongoing lead crisis.
They're called Lead-Safe Schools MKE -- a group of parents and community members who say they want lead-free schools in the city by asking city and state officials to intervene, including an independent investigation on how the MPS lead crisis came to be.
“Making your voice heard as parents of MPS. The parents that are out there that don’t know a lot about what’s going on," said Valentina Sales, an MPS parent and part of Lead-Safe Schools MKE. “For them to have to go to a school and not feel safe and not be safe and for parents to then be put out as we’re seeing now with a lot of the schools being closed. It’s really disheartening.”
Since the beginning of the year, multiple students at MPS have tested positive for lead positioning. It's lead to the temporary closure of seven MPS schools and the removal of MPS's lead and facilities director Sean Kane from the district.
Earlier this month, the Milwaukee Health Department and MPS had reached out to the CDC for help, but that request was formally denied because of federal layoffs.
"It’s really sad to see what is happening in our administration right now which is essentially telling the CDC what they can and can’t do," said Sales.
Parents say they want answers, including when the district's lead action plan will be released and what its plan is to test other buildings in the district. Sales says she wants to see action from the legislature. That includes passing a budget that prioritizes lead cleaning and prevention measures.
“To just make sure that we are being heard and that our parents and our children and our community as a whole is the most important thing," said Sales.