MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools officials faced questions from school board members and community members about the newly created lead action plan during a special meeting Wednesday.
Accountability and transparency emerged as common themes as the district presented its guidelines to address the lead crisis in Milwaukee schools.
Previous Coverage: Officials announce 2 more Milwaukee Public Schools to close for lead remediation
"The accountability piece is a big part of it," said Shannon Pahlicek during public comment.
Pahlicek, a future MPS parent, was among those who attended the meeting to provide feedback on the plan.
"I have a three-year-old, and I want to know he's safe to drink the water at school," said Pahlicek.
Watch: Milwaukee parents demand accountability in MPS lead action plan
Only a handful of people attended Wednesday's special meeting, but those present demanded more supervision in the plan to prevent similar issues in the future.
"There was already a plan in place and we let it get here, and it's not acceptable so there has to be some kind of proactive oversight on the plan moving forward because otherwise the trust is broken in the community," said Pahlicek.
The district is proposing to hire two full-time employees to manage the lead program in the near future according to the plan. However, several key details remain unclear, including total costs and a firm timeline.
District leadership explained they're still trying to determine the scope of this evolving problem. According to Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, Ed.D, the school district has already spent $2 million addressing the issue.
"I can assure you as a superintendent we are not sparing any cost right now," said Cassellius. "We feel the urgency."
She said that the school district has been making requests to find more funding opportunities.
Cassellius indicated this would likely not be a one-time expense but an ongoing cost for the district, raising questions about some of the aging school buildings.
"We have children centered in every decision we make and their safety is our top priority, but we have to get to a point of having a conversation with our community about rebuilds," said Cassellius.
Read the full plan here.
The next lead testing event will take place at North Division High School on May 7 from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
