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Older Milwaukee campuses cleared of lead risks

All 50 Milwaukee school district campuses built before 1950 that serve elementary students have been cleared of lead risks, Superintendent Brenda Cassellius says.

“We are committed to providing safe and welcoming schools to the community," Cassellius says. Successfully addressing lead paint issues is a critical step in this work."

Earlier this year, the city's health department identified peeling lead-based paint and lead dust hazards in a number of Milwaukee public school buildings. Several campuses were closed as city and school officials began remediation efforts.

Workers spent much of the summer cleaning and repainting the pre-1950 campuses.

Now that the lead problems at older schools have been addressed, the district says in a news release, it will shift its focus this fall to 52 schools built between 1950 and 1978 that serve elementary students. Because of the decreased use of lead-based paint during this period (lead paint was banned after 1978), the schools in this group have lower lead risks.

The remediation will be done outside of school hours to minimize disruption, the district says. The goal is to complete the work by December 2025. 

In Spring 2026, the district will complete final cosmetic painting in some of the first 50 schools where, to prioritize opening the schools safely by September, painting was focused on specific areas that needed to be stabilized.  

Chicago school district eliminates 480 custodian jobs

Faced with a massive budget deficit, Chicago Public Schools is cutting 480 custodian jobs and ending all private custodial contracts.

Chalkbeat Chicago reports that starting Sept. 30, athe district will oversee 2,100 full-time custodians and end seven contracts with private custodial companies. The change will mean cutting about 1,250 private custodians. The move came as the district worked to close a $734 million deficit.

Charles Mayfield, the district’s chief operating officer, said he believes more district oversight will help ensure cleanliness at schools, even with fewer custodians. That includes improved staff training, better monitoring of cleaning supplies, and a mobile app that enables custodians to upload information about rooms they’ve cleaned.

District officials say  the custodial changes will save about $40 million, which is part of the $165 million in savings that district officials already announced earlier this summer

The Service Employees Intgernational Union, which represents some of the affected custodians, denounced the change and raised concerns about the district’s ability to keep schools clean. 

Union Vice President Maria Avila says the layoffs feel as if the district is “throwing us away like we don’t matter.”

$10 million in state funding will address deferred maintenance at Langston University

Langston University has received $10,125,000 from the Oklahoma State Legislature to address deferred maintenance projects.

The Historically Black College or University (HBCU) says it will use the funding to address infrastructure needs at all three of its campuses, with a particular focus on the Langston campus.

Langston plans to carry out a number of high-impact projects, including HVAC upgrades, plumbing modernizations, and various infrastructure improvements that will improve campus safety, accessibility and operational efficiency.

“The funding will help us make prioritized improvements which are essential to providing our students, faculty and staff with the quality learning, working and living environments they deserve,” University President Ruth Ray Jackson said.

Last year, the university received $3.5 million to address deferred maintenance projects, $2.5 million of which is earmarked to replace the roof at Langston's Oklahoma City campus.