Parent group calls out city leadership for response to lead crisis in Milwaukee public schools, mayor responds

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A parent group within Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has criticized Mayor Cavalier Johnson for his response to the ongoing lead crisis, while the mayor says he's stepping up despite the responsibility falling on the MPS school board. 

Seven MPS schools have had lead detected inside of the school. Three schools in the district are shut down for lead and have been for five weeks. 

In an Instagram post, the group Lead-Safe Schools MKE, a parent group advocating for healthy and safe schools amid the current lead crisis, said Johnson needs to help fund the remediation of the lead as the city owns the buildings in the district. 

“There’s a lot the mayor could do that he hasn’t done so far," said Ron Jansen, a parent and one of the lead organizers of Lead-Safe Schools MKE. "If the school district needs something like a loan to build a new school, or to remediate or abate lead in the schools that already exist, I think it begs the question, 'What liability does the city have? What could they have been doing differently, even with budgeting?'”

According to Wisconsin law, ultimately, the school board is responsible for the possession, care, control and management of the schools, facilities, operations, property and affairs of the school district.

While speaking at an event on Wednesday, Johnson responded to some of the criticism that his office should be doing more to resolve the lead issue by acknowledging state statute. 

“It’s not our responsibility, but we’re stepping up anyway," Johnson said. “That’s why I’ve instructed my health department to work directly with the school district and reached out to the CDC in order to get the resources necessary to address the issue.”

Jansen questioned why the mayor was able to quickly respond when school resource officers were required in MPS buildings, but there are still schools that are shut down for lead. 

“If we can’t prioritize the basic function of not poisoning our kids while we are trying to educate them in schools, then we are failing," Jansen said. "I want all of our kids to grow up in a safe and healthy place."

On Monday, April 14, the city’s health department said it no longer has anyone to contact at the CDC for help. The department made an official request for the nation's top lead experts to come to Milwaukee – but shortly after, it was denied because those lead experts were impacted by the federal layoffs.