MPS' Sean Kane no longer serving as director of facilities and maintenance effective immediately

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The person in charge of handling the lead crisis in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has been removed from his position. The district announced Thursday, April 3 Sean Kane is no longer serving as the director of facilities and maintenance services effective immediately.

We learned Kane was fined by the state on April 1 for claiming to be a registered architect. That's a requirement for his former role. 

The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services says Kane was not registered for the first few years he held the job. Kane now faces a $1,300 fine. 

Lead has been an ongoing problem that MPS has been addressing since January, when a student at Golda Meir was confirmed to have lead poisoning. Several students have tested positive for lead and multiple schools have been treated for lead contamination. 

Since then, seven MPS schools have tested positive for high levels lead. Three schools remain closed as of April 3 for lead cleaning. 

At a news conference Thursday, April 3, MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius stated multiple times the district can’t comment on personal matters and would not confirm if Kane had been fired, but did state he is separated from the district.

At the news conference, Milwaukee Health Department Commissioner Mike Totoraitis said he never wants to see someone lose their job but called Kane’s “separation” warranted. 

“I never want to see anybody lose their job or their role, however I do think in this moment it was warranted to help move us into this next step," Totoraitis said.

At Thursday's press conference Totoraitis confirmed that back in January, Kane did not allow MHD to go into schools to do their own lead risk assessment, leading to delays in the cleaning process. 

“I was frustrated," said Totoraitis.

Totoraitis says in January, the district reached out to the National Center for Enviornmental Health. On March 26th, the district put in a request with the NCEH for additional staff to help them with a mass lead screening plan. 

“Two days ago, I believe on Tuesday, we were notified that those staff were terminated or RIFed – reduction in workforce at the federal level and are no longer employed by the CDC," said Totoraitis.

The district says it's still committed to clearing lead from its schools and this time, its partnering with the city to discuss risk assessment processes moving forward.

“There’s nothing, absolutely nothing more important than the health and well-being of kids in Milwaukee," said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. 

The district said two people will lead the department in the interim. The first is Michael Mannan, director of MHD's Home Environmental Health (HEH) division, and Mike Turza, who previously was a leader in the district before retiring. Mannan will be supporting MPS full-time and Turza on a day-by-day temporary basis.