1
00:00:01,535 --> 00:00:03,604
thank you. Thank you so much
for the information.

2
00:00:03,670 --> 00:00:06,807
>> Thank you. It was my
pleasure.

3
00:00:06,874 --> 00:00:10,177
quickly approaches, we have
an update on lead

4
00:00:10,244 --> 00:00:12,279
contamination in Milwaukee
Public Schools. Here and

5
00:00:12,346 --> 00:00:16,583
now, reporter Steven Potter
has this report.

6
00:00:19,486 --> 00:00:21,655
>> So they'll come back
before school starts and

7
00:00:21,722 --> 00:00:24,658
make sure that they get
every single spot. And it's

8
00:00:24,725 --> 00:00:28,729
just a constant upkeep.
>> Brenda Cassellius is the

9
00:00:28,795 --> 00:00:32,199
superintendent of the
system. Since her first day

10
00:00:32,266 --> 00:00:36,136
in the job, less than six
months ago, she's faced the

11
00:00:36,203 --> 00:00:38,172
manage a significant health
risk facing the school

12
00:00:38,238 --> 00:00:41,575
district's more than 60,000
students. The problem is

13
00:00:41,642 --> 00:00:44,278
lead contamination,
specifically chipping lead

14
00:00:44,344 --> 00:00:47,447
paint and lead dust, and the
extent of the problem is

15
00:00:47,514 --> 00:00:50,851
very widespread.
>> So we have to assume that

16
00:00:50,918 --> 00:00:55,689
the schools built prior to
1950, when there was the

17
00:00:55,756 --> 00:00:57,891
understanding that there's
lead in paint happened, that

18
00:00:57,958 --> 00:01:00,661
those schools have lead in
them.

19
00:01:00,727 --> 00:01:02,796
>> Cassellius says the
Milwaukee public Schools

20
00:01:02,863 --> 00:01:05,999
were using lead paint until
it was federally outlawed in

21
00:01:06,066 --> 00:01:09,269
1978. That means a majority
of schools are considered

22
00:01:09,336 --> 00:01:12,406
contaminated.
>> That's about 106 schools.

23
00:01:12,472 --> 00:01:14,975
>> The lead crisis began
when a student at the Golda

24
00:01:15,042 --> 00:01:17,477
Meir Elementary School
tested positive for lead

25
00:01:17,544 --> 00:01:20,214
poisoning back in January.
That's when the City of

26
00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,449
Milwaukee Health Department
got involved.

27
00:01:22,516 --> 00:01:24,551
>> We're very concerned
about developmental delays

28
00:01:24,618 --> 00:01:29,389
and cognitive regulation. So
if a child has significant

29
00:01:29,456 --> 00:01:32,559
lead poisoning, it can cause
behavioral issues and make

30
00:01:32,626 --> 00:01:35,796
their more impulsive, and it
can cause permanent brain

31
00:01:35,863 --> 00:01:38,866
damage that has significant
long term effects. So this

32
00:01:38,932 --> 00:01:42,769
is why lead is regulated at
the federal level and why

33
00:01:42,836 --> 00:01:45,539
we're taking this so
seriously here in the city.

34
00:01:45,606 --> 00:01:48,342
>> Early last spring, after
another NPS child tested

35
00:01:48,408 --> 00:01:50,911
positive for lead poisoning,
the health department

36
00:01:50,978 --> 00:01:52,913
ordered the school district
to come up with a lead

37
00:01:52,980 --> 00:01:55,716
abatement and management
plan to address the most

38
00:01:55,782 --> 00:01:58,785
contaminated schools and the
student populations most in

39
00:01:58,852 --> 00:02:02,756
danger of lead poisoning.
>> The district was required

40
00:02:02,823 --> 00:02:06,360
to produce a lead plan to
ensure that we could get

41
00:02:06,426 --> 00:02:10,063
back to compliance with the
lead standards that are set

42
00:02:10,130 --> 00:02:13,066
forth for any school across
the state of Wisconsin.

43
00:02:13,133 --> 00:02:15,702
>> Around 600 students have
been tested, Totoraitis

44
00:02:15,769 --> 00:02:18,505
says, and the testing of
students continues.

45
00:02:18,572 --> 00:02:21,275
>> This is an ongoing effort
that's really going to span

46
00:02:21,341 --> 00:02:23,810
into the coming years to
ensure that we keep eyes on

47
00:02:23,877 --> 00:02:26,980
the students at Mnps and
frankly, across the city.

48
00:02:27,047 --> 00:02:29,082
>> Part of the school
district's new plan,

49
00:02:29,149 --> 00:02:31,385
released last April,
included temporarily closing

50
00:02:31,451 --> 00:02:33,754
several schools and
relocating the students to

51
00:02:33,820 --> 00:02:36,290
another school while
cleaning and repainting was

52
00:02:36,356 --> 00:02:39,426
done over the spring and now
through summer. School

53
00:02:39,493 --> 00:02:41,762
officials say they've made
progress, but still have

54
00:02:41,828 --> 00:02:43,931
dozens more schools to
clear.

55
00:02:43,997 --> 00:02:46,066
>> We're hoping that we'll
have our schools finished

56
00:02:46,133 --> 00:02:50,804
and tested by the September
2nd school start date.

57
00:02:50,871 --> 00:02:53,974
>> It's a fluid process, so
as we do our screenings and

58
00:02:54,041 --> 00:02:56,610
ensuring that the schools
are ready to reopen, we've

59
00:02:56,677 --> 00:02:59,146
uncovered, hey, you actually
need to reclean this room or

60
00:02:59,213 --> 00:03:02,683
you need to restabilize this
surface and that adds more

61
00:03:02,749 --> 00:03:04,351
time.
>> Despite all of their

62
00:03:04,418 --> 00:03:07,521
efforts so far, NPS
officials say that there's

63
00:03:07,588 --> 00:03:10,190
still a lot more work to do
with cleaning and painting

64
00:03:10,257 --> 00:03:12,292
the schools to get them to a
standard that's safe for

65
00:03:12,359 --> 00:03:14,027
students. And once the
schools are stabilized,

66
00:03:14,094 --> 00:03:17,731
additional maintenance and
needed to keep them that

67
00:03:17,798 --> 00:03:20,601
way.
going to cost somewhere

68
00:03:20,667 --> 00:03:23,770
around $25 million to do.
And then there's the ongoing

69
00:03:23,837 --> 00:03:26,740
costs. So we put an
additional $16 million of

70
00:03:26,807 --> 00:03:29,977
ongoing investments within
our facilities department to

71
00:03:30,043 --> 00:03:33,647
add custodial support, to
add painters, to add

72
00:03:33,714 --> 00:03:37,518
plasters, to add lead
abatement. Or lead

73
00:03:38,318 --> 00:03:41,855
inspectors to the team to
make sure that we're keeping

74
00:03:41,922 --> 00:03:44,691
up with our lead action
plan.

75
00:03:44,758 --> 00:03:47,094
NPS is having to cover
alone.

76
00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,430
>> We have not received any
help from the state.

77
00:03:50,497 --> 00:03:52,266
>> Still, some are concerned
that not enough is being

78
00:03:52,332 --> 00:03:55,068
done fast enough or
thoroughly enough to keep

79
00:03:55,135 --> 00:03:58,005
their kids safe. And one
group wants more

80
00:03:58,071 --> 00:04:01,275
transparency about what's
being done. Shannon Pahlicek

81
00:04:01,341 --> 00:04:03,911
is a parent with Lead Safe
Schools Milwaukee.

82
00:04:03,977 --> 00:04:06,380
>> It shouldn't have been a
problem in the first place.

83
00:04:06,446 --> 00:04:09,149
It's an issue of aging.
Buildings is a big part of

84
00:04:09,216 --> 00:04:11,652
it, but it's also an issue
of deferred maintenance,

85
00:04:11,718 --> 00:04:14,254
which is a multifaceted
problem. The

86
00:04:14,321 --> 00:04:16,190
administration's job is to
know what's going on in the

87
00:04:16,256 --> 00:04:19,860
schools. And so the idea
that there was, you know, as

88
00:04:19,927 --> 00:04:24,097
much degradation in the
paint as there was and as

89
00:04:24,164 --> 00:04:27,668
much dust in the schools as
there was, I think that's

90
00:04:27,734 --> 00:04:31,138
that's disheartening. No
child deserves to be unsafe

91
00:04:31,205 --> 00:04:34,141
on day one. So they've got
to do what they've got to

92
00:04:34,208 --> 00:04:37,477
do. But the faster the
better. But you want it done

93
00:04:37,544 --> 00:04:40,113
right.
Cassellius says she

94
00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:42,816
understands the parents
concerns.

95
00:04:42,883 --> 00:04:45,853
>> We're working as fast as
we can with all urgency and

96
00:04:45,919 --> 00:04:49,523
no expense spared. So I've
told my team, if you need

97
00:04:49,590 --> 00:04:52,459
additional painters, we will
buy them. If you need

98
00:04:52,526 --> 00:04:55,062
additional plasters, we will
buy them. The only thing

99
00:04:55,128 --> 00:04:58,765
that I can't give them more
of is time. We are up

100
00:04:58,832 --> 00:05:01,268
against a deadline on
September 2nd to get this

101
00:05:01,335 --> 00:05:04,404
work done.
>> You can't make a mistake

102
00:05:04,471 --> 00:05:07,207
like this and then ask the
public to just trust you.

103
00:05:07,274 --> 00:05:10,310
You have to be willing to
build that trust by being

104
00:05:10,377 --> 00:05:13,447
completely transparent.
>> Regardless of how much

105
00:05:13,514 --> 00:05:16,216
cleaning and repainting is
done. One fact remains that

106
00:05:16,283 --> 00:05:18,919
these schools still have
decades of lead paint inside

107
00:05:18,986 --> 00:05:21,855
them. So the only way to
truly eliminate this risk,

108
00:05:21,922 --> 00:05:25,125
NPS officials say, is to
rebuild.

109
00:05:25,192 --> 00:05:29,196
>> I think that we need to
do some either major

110
00:05:29,263 --> 00:05:32,132
renovations or new builds,
and we need a significant

111
00:05:32,199 --> 00:05:36,336
100 year plan in Milwaukee,
public schools. We have to

112
00:05:36,403 --> 00:05:38,705
make some hard decisions as
a community about the

113
00:05:38,772 --> 00:05:41,308
investments we want to make
in our children's future.

114
00:05:41,375 --> 00:05:46,947
>> Reporting from Milwaukee.
>> Reporting from Milwaukee.