Milwaukee Public Schools sent an email to families claiming that it has completed all necessary lead safety work and that schools involved in the lead crisis are now “safe places for students and staff”. This statement is not supported by the district’s own published records, contractor reports, or statements made directly to families and advocates.
Lead Safe Schools MKE is reviewing the lead clearance reports publicly posted by MPS on its website (mpsmke.com/lead). The reports that we have reviewed show multiple instances where lead dust wipe samples failed clearance standards and no subsequent follow-up clearance testing is documented. Declaring remediation complete without documented re-testing after failed results does not meet basic public health or lead safety standards.
In addition, the district’s third-party contractor, Sigma Group, states in its own reports that large portions of school buildings were never evaluated for lead dust at all. According to Sigma, testers were instructed not to collect dust-wipe samples from:
- Window sills higher than a 6-year-old child could reach
- Stairwells, faculty rooms, bathrooms, and offices
- Mechanical, electrical, boiler, and storage rooms, data closets, attics, and plumbing chases
- Window troughs and radiators
- Exterior building components and soil
These exclusions are significant. Children and staff move throughout school buildings, and lead dust migrates through air movement, foot traffic, and building systems. Areas such as stairwells, bathrooms, radiators, and window components are well-documented sources of lead dust and are typically included in comprehensive lead risk assessments.
Equally concerning, MPS has informed Lead Safe Schools MKE in direct meetings that it currently has no plans to test or remediate middle schools or high schools for lead hazards. Declaring the lead crisis “resolved” while entire categories of schools remain untested is misleading to families and the public.
True lead safety requires more than one-time projects or visual inspections. Ongoing dust-wipe sampling and consistent monitoring are essential for identifying hazards before exposure occurs—not after a child has already been poisoned. Preventive environmental monitoring is a cornerstone of genuine public health protection.
Based on our review, MPS’s current clearance approach does not appear to align with the requirements of Wisconsin DHS Chapter 163, which governs lead hazard reduction, clearance testing, and verification. Incomplete sampling, omission of high-risk areas, and lack of documented retesting following failed results raise serious concerns about whether true lead clearance has been achieved.
When testing is incomplete—or when failed results are not followed by verified retesting—clearance has not occurred. Painting or encapsulation alone does not eliminate lead hazards without documented, comprehensive evaluation and re-verification.
Families have not been clearly informed that:
- Some schools failed clearance testing without documented resolution
- Significant portions of buildings were excluded from lead dust evaluation
- Middle schools and high schools are not currently included in district testing or remediation plans
- Ongoing dust-wipe monitoring is not being implemented district-wide
Public confidence cannot be rebuilt through assurances that outpace the evidence. Lead safety is established through rigorous testing, routine monitoring, transparency, and independent verification, not deadlines or declarations.
Lead Safe Schools MKE calls on MPS to immediately:
- Release a clear accounting of all failed clearance results and documented follow-up testing
- Explain why third-party testers were instructed to exclude high-risk areas from evaluation
- Conduct comprehensive, independent lead dust testing in all areas of school buildings, including those previously excluded
- Implement regular, ongoing dust-wipe sampling in all schools as a preventive monitoring system
- Commit to a district-wide lead testing and remediation plan that includes middle schools and high schools
- Bring all lead hazard reduction and clearance practices into full compliance with Wisconsin DHS Chapter 163
There is no safe level of lead exposure. Milwaukee families deserve full transparency and verifiable assurance that every MPS school building is truly, continuously, and demonstrably lead-safe — not just declared so.
