{"id":3273,"date":"2025-06-12T15:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/come-and-help-us-milwaukee-parents-fire-back-at-trump-administration-for-denying-federal-aid-amid-lead-crisis-in-schools\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T15:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:18:12","slug":"come-and-help-us-milwaukee-parents-fire-back-at-trump-administration-for-denying-federal-aid-amid-lead-crisis-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/come-and-help-us-milwaukee-parents-fire-back-at-trump-administration-for-denying-federal-aid-amid-lead-crisis-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Come and help us\u2019: Milwaukee parents fire back at Trump administration for denying federal aid amid lead crisis in schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/action-bar\/instances\/cmbqrymnn007a26pbhqzs68cm@published\" 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data-url=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dialog\/share?app_id=80401312489&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F06%2F11%2Fhealth%2Fmilwaukee-parents-lead-crisis-schools&amp;display=popup\" data-type=\"facebook\" aria-label=\"share with facebook\" title=\"Share with Facebook\">                                <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Facebook<\/span>        <\/button>        <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Check%20out%20this%20article%3A&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F06%2F11%2Fhealth%2Fmilwaukee-parents-lead-crisis-schools\" data-type=\"x\" aria-label=\"share with x\" title=\"Share with X\">                                <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Tweet<\/span>        <\/button>                                        <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Email<\/span>                <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/06\/11\/health\/milwaukee-parents-lead-crisis-schools\" data-type=\"copy\" aria-label=\"copy link to clipboard\" title=\"Copy link to clipboard\">                                <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Link<\/span>        <\/button>        <\/p>\n<div class=\"social-share_labelled-list__copied\" data-type=\"message\">                        Link Copied!        <\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>    <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__open\" data-type=\"open\" aria-label=\"open social share\" title=\"Open social share\">            <\/button>    <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__close\" data-type=\"close\" aria-label=\"close social share\" title=\"Close social share\">            <\/button><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__buttons\">            <button class=\"action-bar__button\" data-title=\"follow\">                                        Follow            <\/button>            <button class=\"action-bar__button\" data-title=\"share options\">                                <\/button>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/source\/instances\/cmbqrymnn007b26pb1vwmgy4p@published\" data-component-name=\"source\" class=\"source-elevate vossi-source inline-placeholder\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">    <cite class=\"source__cite vossi-source__cite\">      <span class=\"source__location vossi-source__location\" data-editable=\"location\">Milwaukee<\/span>        &nbsp;\u2014&nbsp;    <\/cite><\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrymnn007c26pbf9poeo33@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The library at Starms Discovery Learning Center has cheerful peach and blue walls, and squat wooden shelves filled with books wrapped in thick plastic jackets to protect them from the touches and smudges of many small hands.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxz900042e6bxqc5swun@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            On Monday, the library became a place to exchange other stories, too \u2013 darker stories. These were stories of stressed mothers and anxious kids, of graduating fifth-graders missing out on end-of-year celebrations.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqubw3b00033b6mnn6et4op@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The stories were about families with a dangerous toxin \u2013 lead \u2013 in their homes and now in their public schools. Those families<strong> <\/strong>shared stories about brain damage and learning disabilities, and about a federal government that has denied them help.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxz900052e6bc10v8jhw@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cI am here to elevate your stories,\u201d said Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Madison who is the junior senator from Wisconsin.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00072e6b9kcykgmw@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Baldwin, flanked by officials from the city\u2019s health department and school district, had come to Starms to meet with families and community activists and to hear more about their lives since the discovery that a child had been poisoned by peeling lead paint in one of the city\u2019s aging and poorly maintained school buildings.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmbqw1uov001a3b6mabragj72@published\" class=\"image_large-elevate image_large__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-name=\"baldwin WDJT.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image_large--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image_large--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image_large--eq-large&quot;: 660}\" data-original-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-original-height=\"1080\" data-original-width=\"1920\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/baldwin-wdjt.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image_large__container \" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image_large--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image_large--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image_large--show-credits&quot;: 525}\">           <\/div>\n<div class=\"image_large__metadata-container media__metadata-container\">\n<div class=\"image_large__metadata media__metadata\">\n<div class=\"image_large__caption attribution\">    <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">Sen. Tammy Baldwin met on Monday with families who&#8217;ve been impacted by school closures in Milwaukee due to lead in aging buildings.<\/span>  <\/div><figcaption class=\"image_large__credit\">WDJT<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00082e6bdp1s5vpq@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The city\u2019s health department ordered the school district to remediate the hazard, but the scope of the problem turned out to be much larger than a single building. So far, the district has closed six schools for cleaning and repainting, displacing roughly 1,800 students. Over the summer, the district\u2019s efforts will kick into high gear. It has a goal of visually inspecting all school buildings by September 1.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqs2l5900002e6bzhts3b74@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The district, which is the largest in Wisconsin, has 144 buildings. All but 11 were built before 1978, when it was still legal to use lead in paint. The average age of an MPS school is 82 years.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00092e6b1e6atp3s@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            A few blocks away, Starms Early Childhood Center, the sister campus to the elementary school, is one of four that remains closed. It was built in 1893 and its preschool and kindergarten students and their teachers were moved into the elementary school. Though the city has cleared the building to reopen, many families said they\u2019d prefer to remain where they were through the end of the school year to minimize further disruptions. Friday is district\u2019s last day before summer break.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000a2e6bag17eb5a@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Several students in the district have been found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood. One case has been definitively linked to deteriorating paint in the basement of a school building, Golda Meir elementary. Two other cases involved students at<strong> <\/strong>Trowbridge and Kagel schools. Investigations determined that the source of the lead was most likely a combination of exposures from home and school.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/related-content\/instances\/cmbs5qezo00093b6megxpt4k0@published\" data-component-name=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content-elevate related-content--article\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<header class=\"related-content__title related-content__title-text\" data-editable=\"content.title\">Related article<\/header>\n<section class=\"related-content__body\">\n<div class=\"related-content__image image__related-content\">\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmag7bfgc000i26qj8mjz3wtj@published\" class=\"image-elevate image__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-name=\"AlbanV_20250506_CNN_MKELead_46.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--eq-large&quot;: 660}\" data-original-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\" data-original-height=\"2000\" data-original-width=\"3000\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/albanv-20250506-cnn-mkelead-46.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image__container \" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--show-credits&quot;: 525}\">           <\/div>\n<div class=\"image__metadata-container media__metadata-container\">\n<div class=\"image__metadata media__metadata\">\n<div class=\"image__caption attribution\">    <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">Chipped paint on a doorway at the Golda Meir School, the school where the first known student to be exposed to a lead hazard was discovered, is seen on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Milwaukee, Wis.<\/span>  <\/div><figcaption class=\"image__credit\">Vincent Alban for CNN<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"related-content__headline\">        <span class=\"related-content__headline-text\" data-editable=\"content.headline\">In a city burdened by health hazards of lead, they\u2019re trying to repair school buildings and public trust<\/span>      <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqup4ib000a3b6m0k78br3c@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Other cases have been investigated and the schools were cleared as the source, said Caroline Reinwald, a spokesperson for the Milwaukee Health Department.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqsea0c00032e6bvt79fr0w@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Since the crisis started, Reinwald said, about 550 children have been screened for lead at clinics run by the health department and Novir, a company hired by the city to assist with screening. That doesn\u2019t include kids who might have been tested through their primary care doctors.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000c2e6bss605tm3@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cWe need to test many more kids for lead,\u201d Milwaukee Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Totoraitis said on Monday.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmbqweq5i001o3b6m9xr42pjj@published\" class=\"image_large-elevate image_large__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-name=\"USATSI_25914484.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image_large--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image_large--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image_large--eq-large&quot;: 660}\" data-original-ratio=\"0.75\" data-original-height=\"1200\" data-original-width=\"1600\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/usatsi-25914484.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image_large__container \" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image_large--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image_large--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image_large--show-credits&quot;: 525}\">           <\/div>\n<div class=\"image_large__metadata-container media__metadata-container\">\n<div class=\"image_large__metadata media__metadata\">\n<div class=\"image_large__caption attribution\">    <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">About 25 people attended a meeting in April to discuss issues with lead management in Milwaukee Public Schools.<\/span>  <\/div><figcaption class=\"image_large__credit\">Cleo Krejci\/USA Today Network\/Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000d2e6bvjk5pvs7@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The City of Milwaukee Health Department had been working with experts in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch when the entire team was laid off in the federal government\u2019s Reduction in Force cuts in April.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000e2e6besxnp2i0@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The city had requested that the CDC dispatch disease detectives to help mount a wide-scale blood testing campaign of kids in city schools. That request was also denied, citing the agency\u2019s loss of its lead experts.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbs5p39900063b6m99nl1059@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Families who attended the meeting with Baldwin said they were outraged by the Trump administration\u2019s apparent lack of support or interest.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbs5v186000g3b6m94xfou24@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cWe need our children to be protected right now,\u201d said Tikiya Frazier, who has nieces and nephews at two of the closed schools. \u201cWe need them to understand that and come and help us. This is a state of emergency for us.\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000f2e6b2bl69eje@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            On Monday, Baldwin issued an open invitation to US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to visit Milwaukee to see and hear the issues for himself. She has twice before pressed Kennedy about the denial of federal aid. Both times he gave mollifying answers.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000g2e6bjaohsfjo@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cDo you mean to eliminate this branch at the CDC?\u201d Baldwin asked him in a hearing in May.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000h2e6bhd7n17tm@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cNo, we do not,\u201d Kennedy responded.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbs5l2xg00033b6mr9qrrb2j@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            But he has yet to reinstate the fired experts or reopen the lead program under his planned Administration for a Healthy America. He\u2019s also given no timeline for when federal lead poisoning prevention activities might continue.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000i2e6boqvmtgid@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            When Baldwin asked Kennedy about Milwaukee\u2019s situation in a budget hearing a week later, he responded that \u201cWe have a team in Milwaukee.\u201d The team was a lab technician who had briefly come to help calibrate a machine in the city\u2019s public health lab.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000j2e6bodorepr1@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Although the city had requested and needed that help for years, officials said it was not the work they had recently asked the CDC to tackle: helping get more kids\u2019 blood tested for lead exposure.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000k2e6bzslfmuao@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cEither he was lying, or he didn\u2019t know what was happening in his own agency. Either one is unacceptable,\u201d Baldwin said after Monday\u2019s meeting.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/related-content\/instances\/cmbs5rd5o000b3b6mid235mdd@published\" data-component-name=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content-elevate related-content--article\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<header class=\"related-content__title related-content__title-text\" data-editable=\"content.title\">Related article<\/header>\n<section class=\"related-content__body\">\n<div class=\"related-content__image image__related-content\">\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmawxdib4000i26qa6c4094lk@published\" class=\"image-elevate image__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-name=\"USATSI_25666167.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--eq-large&quot;: 660}\" data-original-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\" data-original-height=\"1600\" data-original-width=\"2400\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/usatsi-25666167.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image__container \" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--show-credits&quot;: 525}\">           <\/div>\n<div class=\"image__metadata-container media__metadata-container\">\n<div class=\"image__metadata media__metadata\">\n<div class=\"image__caption attribution\">    <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">Robert M. LaFollette School on North 9th Street in Milwaukee on Friday, March 14, 2025. The school will temporarily close due so lead hazards can be addressed.<\/span>  <\/div><figcaption class=\"image__credit\">Mike De Sisti\/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel\/USA Today\/Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"related-content__headline\">        <span class=\"related-content__headline-text\" data-editable=\"content.headline\">Kennedy said a \u2018team\u2019 is in Milwaukee to help with lead contamination. The city says that\u2019s not true<\/span>      <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000l2e6b4poig9d0@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Kennedy has also failed to respond to a letter that Baldwin and US Rep. Gwen Moore sent in April, urging him to reinstate the CDC\u2019s lead team.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbs2oxpn00002e6bixee4bhv@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            On Tuesday, Baldwin and her colleague, Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, sent Kennedy another letter with detailed questions about the fate of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. They gave him until June 16 to respond.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000m2e6b8eni2cwg@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cWe\u2019ve got to hold the Trump administration accountable,\u201d Baldwin said. \u201cThey could make the situation better today by rehiring these experts.\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000q2e6b8ls9cnsm@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cI\u2019m angry because Wisconsin is always there for other states,\u201d said Koa Branch, who has four children in Milwaukee\u2019s public schools.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000r2e6bi0znfbhf@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            When the tap water in Flint, Michigan, tested positive for high levels of lead a decade ago, Branch said, she remembers community members packing up food and supplies and going for support. But now, \u201cwhere\u2019s our help? Where\u2019s help for us?\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000s2e6b4f5rok7z@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Branch had two sons at Westside Academy when it closed in early May. She was notified via a newsletter sent home with her children and later a phone call.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000t2e6bi77cdj9l@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cMy anxiety hit the roof,\u201d she said.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmbqw3xhg001c3b6msmmghtu5@published\" class=\"image_large-elevate image_large__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-name=\"USATSI_26036818.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image_large--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image_large--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image_large--eq-large&quot;: 660}\" data-original-ratio=\"0.75\" data-original-height=\"1200\" data-original-width=\"1600\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/usatsi-26036818.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image_large__container \" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image_large--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image_large--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image_large--show-credits&quot;: 525}\">           <\/div>\n<div class=\"image_large__metadata-container media__metadata-container\">\n<div class=\"image_large__metadata media__metadata\">\n<div class=\"image_large__caption attribution\">    <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">Milwaukee Public Schools officials announced in late April that Westside Academy would need to close to address lead hazards.<\/span>  <\/div><figcaption class=\"image_large__credit\">Angela Peterson\/Milwaukee Journal\/USA Today Network\/Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqu73c600013b6mtbo5fok7@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The school district relocated classes to Andrew Douglas Middle School, about 3 miles away, or gave students the option to take classes online.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000u2e6bm0z6mgoe@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Branch says her easygoing 5-year-old, Jonas, took things in stride, but her sensitive fourth-grader Jerell, 10, couldn\u2019t handle the change.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000v2e6by26q2x34@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cI had to make a choice. I had to separate the two,\u201d Branch said. Jonas moved with his class and teacher to the new campus, while Jarrell took classes online after Branch got home from work at night.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000w2e6bfqudf338@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cI can\u2019t speak for everybody else, but it stressed my household,\u201d she said.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000x2e6byhgab9y5@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Branch said her kids have a vigilant pediatrician who has tested them for lead at each yearly wellness visit. So far, their test results have been normal. Still, she planned to take her youngest to a free clinic at a local church to get tested again.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000y2e6bgx6lz0mo@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Santana Wells said she had a son and a niece attending fifth grade at Brown Street Academy, which closed May 12, about a month before school ended.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza000z2e6bntrrj2w0@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Being at a different school caused her son to miss out on a lot of activities Brown Street had planned for its departing fifth-graders, she said<strong>.<\/strong>    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00102e6by6czhmy9@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cBrown Street used to do a carnival every year. They do a picnic. They have a long list of what they were doing for their graduates,\u201d Wells said. Now, she said, it was a pared-down field trip, which felt unfair.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00112e6ber950aes@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Wells said she \u201cruns a tight schedule\u201d at home to make it to work by 3 p.m. each day. With the change in schools, her son was arriving home<strong> <\/strong>later, which made her late to work, on top of everything else.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00122e6b6r2mf5ed@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Several parents said their kids had questions about the lead and felt anxious about going back to school in the fall, even though the city has tested their schools and deemed them safe to reoccupy.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmbqwa5ng001m3b6m09duq9xe@published\" class=\"image_large-elevate image_large__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-name=\"USATSI_25902286.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image_large--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image_large--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image_large--eq-large&quot;: 660}\" data-original-ratio=\"0.756875\" data-original-height=\"1211\" data-original-width=\"1600\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/usatsi-25902286.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image_large__container \" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image_large--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image_large--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image_large--show-credits&quot;: 525}\">           <\/div>\n<div class=\"image_large__metadata-container media__metadata-container\">\n<div class=\"image_large__metadata media__metadata\">\n<div class=\"image_large__caption attribution\">    <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">So far, Milwaukee has closed six schools due to lead, including Fernwood Montessori School. The district plans to visually inspect all schools by September 1.<\/span>  <\/div><figcaption class=\"image_large__credit\">Jovanny Hernandez\/USA Today Network\/Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00132e6bcuwqvpqf@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The stories told on Monday weren\u2019t just for the ears of the federal government. Totoraitis said the questions from children were a light-bulb moment for him, too. The health department\u2019s workers took great care to explain the lead situation to parents, but they hadn\u2019t done as much to try to answer kids\u2019 questions about what was happening. He said the department would work on that.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00142e6bw3tn424d@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            He also hopes to temporarily hire at least one of the laid-off CDC lead experts for a few weeks to come review the city\u2019s efforts and make sure they are on track.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00152e6bsymzjw28@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Baldwin hopes the federal government will rehire them, too.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqrzxza00162e6biutxt4hi@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cThese were the renowned experts on childhood lead mitigation and remediation, and the federal government needs to have that staff capacity to help, just as they did in Flint, Michigan,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s needed here, right now, in Milwaukee.\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqw61gm001g3b6mmd8n0qoi@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The US Environmental Protection Agency lifted its emergency order on drinking water in Flint last month \u2014 nine years after it was put into place.    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div>This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pollution Environmental disease Student life See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Link Copied! 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