Crisis Leadership and Cross-Agency Collaboration: Milwaukee’s Rapid Response to a Lead Emergency
Milwaukee turned a shocking discovery of school-based lead poisoning into an unprecedented, citywide push to make nearly 100 aging school buildings lead-safe in under a year. This mini case study highlights how crisis leadership, cross-agency collaboration, and rapid remediation protected thousands of children and laid the groundwork for long-term prevention.
The city of Milwaukee has long known it has one of the highest rates of childhood lead poisoning in the country. According to Tyler Weber, the deputy commissioner of the City of Milwaukee Health Department’s (MHD) environmental health division, MHD records indicate each year approximately 2,000 children in Milwaukee test positive for elevated blood lead levels (EBLL), which is above 3.5 micrograms per deciliter.
To combat these high rates, Milwaukee has an ecosystem of lead abatement efforts aimed at protecting its children. The MHD recommends an aggressive schedule of blood lead level testing in children to identify exposure as early as possible – at 12, 18, and 24 months, followed by annual testing until age five. Any positive blood lead level test is reported to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and MHD is notified to begin an investigation and case management.
While many people associate lead poisoning with contaminated drinking water, one of the most common sources of lead exposure for young children is lead dust. Of Milwaukee Public Schools’ (MPS) 144 active campuses, only 11 were built after the 1978 federal ban on lead paint. MPS presumes any structure built before 1978 likely contains lead paint, which is dangerous when lead dust is released as the paint cracks or peels, or during renovations. MPS has a lead maintenance plan that requires annual inspections by building engineers to monitor the condition of lead-based paint.
Therefore it was a shock to the community in January 2025, when MPS notified families that a MPS student tested positive for lead poisoning and the subsequent MHD investigation revealed the lead exposure did not occur at the child’s home but at Golda Meir School, where the child was a student. By February, further MHD investigations revealed hazardous levels of lead contamination at numerous schools, leading to a full blown crisis.
Want to learn more?
Hear from Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who discusses lead remediation and the relationship between environmental health, public safety, and opportunity on a recent episode of the Data-Smart City Pod, Supporting Childhood Opportunity Starts With Environmental Justice.
About the Author
Stefanie Le
Stefanie Le is a writer for Data-Smart City Solutions. She previously worked at the Washington Post, the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard, the Information Disorder Lab at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, the International Criminal Court, and The Boston Globe. Stefanie holds two master’s degrees from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism (2018) and Harvard University (2016), where she specialized in international law and investigative reporting, and international relations respectively, and bachelor’s degrees in journalism and English literature from Emerson College.