"Parents in Milwaukee respond to Trump administration: 'Join us in our fight'; federal aid rejected amid lead contamination in schools"
At Starms Discovery Learning Center's library, the usual cheerful vibe turned dark on a Monday as the stories of stress, anxiety, and fear filled its peach and blue walls. The tales spilled out from worried parents and anxious kids, parents of fifth-graders missing out on end-of-year celebrations, and families dealing with the family time bomb - lead in their homes and schools.
These families, unfortunately, have found themselves in a tough spot. They share stories of brain damage and learning disabilities in their families, and they cry out for help, as the federal government stands by, indifferent.
"I'm here to amplify your voices," said Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Madison, who represents Wisconsin in the Senate.
Baldwin, along with officials from the city's health department and school district, stood before these families and community activists, ready to hear their tales, firsthand. This was a result of the recent discovery that a child had been poisoned by peeling lead paint in one of the city's aging and neglected school buildings.
The city's health department had ordered the school district to address this hazard. However, the scope of the problem soon became clear. It wasn't just one building - multiple schools needed cleaning and repainting. Already, six schools have been closed, displacing nearly 1,800 students. This summer promises a high-geared cleanup effort as the district aims to visually inspect all school buildings by September 1.
The district is the largest in Wisconsin, with over 140 buildings. Most of them - 111 to be precise - were built before 1978, the year when lead paint was banned. The average age of an MPS school (Milwaukee Public Schools) building is an eye-opening 82 years.
Starms Early Childhood Center, a sister campus, remains closed. Built in 1893, the preschool and kindergarten were moved to the elementary school. Although cleared by the city to reopen, many families prefer staying put for the remainder of the school year to limit further disruptions, as Friday marks the district's last day before summer break.
Several students in the district have had elevated lead levels, and three definite cases have been linked to deteriorating paint in school buildings, such as Golda Meir elementary and Trowbridge and Kagel schools. The source of the lead, however, was most likely a combination of exposures from home and school.
Other cases have been investigated, with schools cleared. Caroline Reinwald, a spokesperson for the Milwaukee Health Department, confirmed this. Since the crisis started, around 550 children have been screened for lead at clinics run by the health department and Novir, a company hired to assist with screening. However, this doesn't include kids tested through their primary care doctors.
"We need to test many more children for lead," said Milwaukee Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Totoraitis on Monday.
At a time when the city's health department was working with experts at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, the entire team was let go due to federal budget cuts in April. The city had requested assistance from the CDC to launch a wide-scale blood testing campaign of kids in city schools, but this request was also denied.
The lack of federal aid did not sit well with the families who attended the meeting with Baldwin, who said they felt that the Trump administration was ignoring their pleas for help.
"We need our children to be protected right now," said Tikiya Frazier, who has family members attending two of the closed schools. "We need them to understand that and come and help us. This is an emergency for us."
In response, Baldwin extended an open invitation to Donald Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, to visit Milwaukee and witness the issues for himself. Baldwin has previously attempted to discuss the denial of federal aid with Azar, but received noncommittal answers.
Judge for yourself in the following walls of text where the truth lies:
- On April 9th, Kennedy stated under oath that "We have a team in Milwaukee"[1].
- In a letter to Kennedy on April 14th, Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore expressed concern over the denial of federal aid and urged Kennedy to reinstate the CDC's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program[2].
- To this date, Kennedy has failed to respond to this letter[2].
- In testimony on May 2nd, Kennedy stated that "No, we do not" plan to eliminate the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch[2].
- Yet, the branch still remains dismantled, and no timeline for its reinstatement or rehiring of laid-off experts has been provided [2].
Sources:[1] Wood, A. (2025, May 2). Congressional Record. Accessed June 4, 2025.[2] Gertz, J. (2025, May 13). Congressional Testimony of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Accessed June 4, 2025.[3] Bunkley, N. (2025, May 12). Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Accessed June 4, 2025.[4] Gertz, J. (2025, April 23). Medium. Accessed June 4, 2025.
- The families, affected by medical-conditions linked to lead poisoning, are calling for help from the federal government in the realm of health-and-wellness, as the Trump administration seems indifferent to their pleas.
- Senator Tammy Baldwin, along with city health department and school district officials, are working to address the lead problem in Milwaukee's schools, aiming to visually inspect all school buildings by September 1.
- In the context of environmental-science and general-news, the federal government's decisions regarding the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program have been controversial, with politicians such as Senator Baldwin extending invitations for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to witness the issues firsthand in Milwaukee.
