Milwaukee’s Westside Academy, built in 1895, has been cleared of hazards caused by lead-based paint.
Milwaukee Public Schools made that announcement July 1, logging Westside as the eighth school to have passed clearance for lead hazards by the city of Milwaukee Health Department. The K4 through fifth-grade school of about 160 students is at 1945 N. 31st St. in the Walnut Hill neighborhood.
More than 1,000 children in Milwaukee each year are poisoned by lead, mostly due to paint in older houses, according to city health officials. A lack of maintenance of lead-based paint in MPS drew public attention in early 2025 after city health officials announced a child had been poisoned by lead paint at Golda Meir Lower Campus.
MPS is working throughout the summer to stabilize hazards caused by lead-based paint in all elementary schools built before 1950. Along with those 54 buildings, it plans to complete paint stabilization at another 52 schools — those constructed between 1950 and 1978 — by the end of the 2025 calendar year.
Students and staff from Westside Academy relocated to Andrew S. Douglas Middle School on May 5. They remained at Douglas through the end of the school year, meaning they were displaced from their regular building for six weeks.
“We are working hard to get our schools ready for students this fall, and this news today is another indication of our progress,” Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said July 1 in a statement. “I want to again thank the students, families, and staff at Westside Academy for their patience and flexibility this year. I’m so glad they will be able to start the school year this September back in their building.”
Westside Academy inspection found chipping, peeling paint in reach of young children
A visual inspection report at Westside Academy noted significant hazards caused by lead throughout the building, including chipping and peeling paint in classrooms for children age 6 and younger.
Deteriorated paint was found on windowsills, baseboards near children’s floor areas, ceilings, walls, shelving and more. Dust and paint chips were found on surfaces within a child’s reach, the report showed.
“Other maintenance issues included leaking boiler pipes, escaping steam from radiator/boiler systems, and possible asbestos abatement measure deterioration. Basement areas and maintenance closets made the majority of potential lead hazards, but all floors contained deteriorated painted surfaces,” the report said.
Potential issues with asbestos were also identified during lead remediation at LaFollette Elementary School.
In response to questions about asbestos management from the Journal Sentinel in June, MPS spokesperson Stephen Davis said MPS facilities follow the EPA’s Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act regulation, and the district has an asbestos management plan in place to manage and address any maintenance and repair requests.
MPS also conducts re-inspections to assess the condition of asbestos-containing materials in each school every three years, as required by the EPA. Every six months between reinspections, the school’s building engineer checks the building to ensure the asbestos-containing material within the building is undamaged, Davis said. Any damage identified during a three-year reinspection or six-month building check gets immediately fixed through the MPS work order system.
Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit jsonline.com/rfa.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Westside Academy becomes eighth school cleared of lead hazards, MPS announces
Reporting by Cleo Krejci, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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