MPS confirms flooding affected lead cleanup work; district racing to clear all schools before students return

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) Superintendent Brenda Cassellius confirmed Thursday, Aug. 28, crews are still working to finish lead remediation work at more than a dozen high-priority schools before students return to begin a new school year Tuesday.

Student safety frequently came up during a back-to-school event the district held Thursday at Marshall High School. Cassellius told reporters the ongoing lead efforts were affected by historic flooding that ravaged southeastern Wisconsin earlier this month.

"It did impact the lead work earlier with the flood, so we had to pull crews off," Cassellius said. "We lost a contractor who had to help our residents as an emergency, so there were a number of impacts to our lead work moving forward this summer."

MPS officials said 24 schools were affected by the flooding with two buildings, Riverside High School and Barack Obama School for Career and Technical Education, sustaining significant damage to flooring and electronics. Cassellius said last week she hoped MPS would qualify for federal disaster aid.

22 other schools were moderately damaged, according to the district. Cassellius said Thursday staff were still monitoring 12 schools for asbestos that could be released if the water damage causes tiles to pop.

"We're monitoring the buckling, and that just takes time If they buckle, that's when they have to be addressed," she said. "If they're not disturbed, then they don't have to be addressed."

MPS officials said the flood damage contributed to lead remediation efforts still being incomplete at 13 of 50 schools built prior to 1950 the district had prioritized for cleanup before the new school year.

Cassellius said any work unfinished by Tuesday would be confined to portions of the schools, and students could be moved into other spaces without their learning being disrupted.

"There may be a few classrooms here or there that will still need to be closed for Tuesday, but not full schools," Cassellius said. "So, parents should feel comfortable sending their child to school. I might just where if I was in room 104, I'll be in room 204."

Response to Minneapolis: A call for gun control

The mass shooting that claimed the lives of two children in Minneapolis was also top of mind at Thursday's event. Cassellius, who served as Minnesota's commissioner of education for two years, said the attack hit close to home. Her family lived near Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. 

Cassellius said any efforts to protect children in Milwaukee must go beyond the classroom.

"We have just, as a city, as a state, have to do something about gun control," she said. "And make sure these types of weapons are not in the hands of young children, young adults and people who would want to do harm."

Within MPS buildings, Cassellius said she was confident in the district's safety plan, which includes the return of 25 school resource officers. Cassellius said more of those officers now have training specific to working in schools.

"We just met with our security team a few days ago before [the Minneapolis shooting] happened, and we will be reconvening our security team, just to make sure that we are absolutely prepared," she said. "We continue to that updating, and then, also coordinating with the city and the SROs, as well."

Final classroom preps

Cassellius said the district was finalizing its efforts to fill about 100 classroom teacher vacancies. She said the district planned to pull more teachers currently based at central office and give them full-time classroom assignments.

Cassellius said those transitions would be in addition to 30 teachers who've already been moved out of central office to fill openings in various classrooms.

Between now and Tuesday, Cassellius said one of the biggest hurdles will be preparing classrooms that underwent lead remediation efforts. She said while many of those rooms are now cleared for students, staff have had less time than usual to unpack the rooms and get them ready for the new year.

For the 52 schools built after 1950, Cassellius said work will happen in those buildings on nights and weekends with the goal of clearing those schools by the end of December.