Seeking Clarity Amid Controversy: Milwaukee Families Demand Answers on School Lead Crisis

Milwaukee Public Schools' families say they want answers and the truth about federal efforts to address the district's lead crisis inside several schools.

Families, including Luecrisha Scales, are demanding transparency after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s claim that a federal team is on the ground responding to the issue sparked controversy.

Scales' granddaughter attends Starms Early Childhood Center where lead cleanup efforts just ended.

Luecrisha Scales: "I was very concerned because I had taken her to the doctor and they detected lead in her system and I didn’t know where it was coming from, possibly so to find out the schools have lead, yeah, that was concerning."

For months, the health department and MPS have collaborated to remove lead from 10 schools. Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy Jr. told senators on Tuesday that a federal team is helping with those efforts.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: "In Milwaukee, we have a team in Milwaukee and we’re giving laboratory support to the analytics in Milwaukee and we’re working with the health department in Milwaukee."

Milwaukee Public Schools said RFK is mistaken. The Milwaukee Health Department told the Scripps News Group that "there is no team from HHS or CDC in Milwaukee assisting with the MPS lead hazard response.”

Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the false claims make him furious.

Cavalier Johnson: "It’s a lie and it’s a slap in the face to those kids and those families in Milwaukee."

A Milwaukee Health Department spokesperson told the Scripps News Group that the only federal involvement was a visit earlier this month from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab employee who helped them onboard equipment.

Johnson said the CDC denied the city’s request for lead poisoning experts to address contamination.