Laying off painters can have health consequences for children, as a Milwaukee school district is fast finding out.
In early January, a kid was found to have lead poisoning. When authorities investigated the source, they discovered flaking lead paint in the basement bathroom of the school the child attended, according to the Milwaukee Daily Sentinel.
The flaking lead paint was determined to be the source of the child’s illness.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t an isolated incident. As the investigation grew, authorities found six other schools in the Milwaukee School District with peeling paint. Four of them were forced to temporarily close.
What could have possibly prevented this?
Painters.
As the newspaper dug in, they discovered that the district had laid off a staggering 85% of its painting staff over the past three decades. The district was left with only five painters, down from 34 in the late 1990s.
This meant that the regular maintenance of the coatings that were called “painting days” disappeared from the schedule.
Lead poisoning was the natural result. As many as 125 schools in the district likely have lead paint due to when they were built. That means thousands of children were put at risk of lead exposure because of the decisions to lay off painters who were viewed as “expendable” when the budget cuts came due.
Turns out the painters may have been the biggest bargains in the building. They could have saved the district the likely millions of dollars it will have to pay out to affected families.
Meanwhile, students are still going to classes in some of the buildings that have lead protected by a coat of paint that hasn’t been updated in decades in an environment known for wear and tear.
The loss of painting capabilities should have been very clear with a cursory review of the numbers. The Sentinel found records showing over 400 open requests for maintenance throughout the district, with a quarter estimated to be paint related.
In one of the most horrifying details, the newspaper quotes a work order that reads, “drywall needs patching autistic kids peels it and eats it [sic]”.
Don’t let anyone tell you professional painters aren’t important. In this case, were saving the health and IQ points of America’s children.
