Milwaukee Public Schools – Page 14 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Is the End (of MPS) Near?

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:March 2, 2011
Post category:Milwaukee Public Schools

Is this the end of Milwaukee Public Schools?

I kind of doubt it, but the fact you can ask that question seriously says something about the depth of the crisis facing the state’s largest and most problem-filled school district. Put together the cuts outlined in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal with the end of federal stimulus spending, the continuing decline in enrollment, and the every-day run of severe problems that affect MPS and you have a really ugly picture.

School Board President Michael Bonds has used the word “devastating” repeatedly in recent days. State Rep. Tamara Grigsby, a Milwaukee Democrat who is an MPS graduate herself, called Walker’s proposals “an absolute annihilation” of public education, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Those are strong terms.

Layoffs of hundreds of teachers, the elimination of a list programs such as a math initiative in recent years (paid for by $10 million a year in state aid), and the possible closing of a substantial number of schools all seem likely. Will even those steps be enough to meet the financial problems? Will what results be a stable and functioning system? (I’m imagining simply the re-assignment and scheduling issues around a major wave of school closings, for example.)

Will MPS Get Squeezed Extra Hard?

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:February 14, 2011
Post category:Education & Law Labor & Employment Law Milwaukee Public Schools

We’re entering uncharted territory when it comes to school issues statewide. I think it was clear from pretty far back that Gov. Scott Walker and Republican leaders in the Legislature were going to push for state employees and for teachers across the state (who are not state employees, but the state can influence their job situations) to pay significant shares of their health insurance and pension payments. But I was caught off guard by the move to take away almost all the unions’ bargaining role, as Walker proposed last week.

This is going to be a tumultuous and momentous spring and summer when it comes to education issues statewide. I wonder what all will be different when it comes time to open schools in September.

Permit me to venture into one aspect of what lies ahead that I specifically wonder about:

Walker proposed that public employees pay 5.8% of their salaries toward their pensions and 12% of the cost of their health insurance coverage. While I wonder how that’s going to play out across the state, I especially wonder how it will play out in Milwaukee Public Schools.

WEAC and MTEA: This Is War (I Expect)

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:February 9, 2011
Post category:Education & Law Milwaukee Public Schools

The decision by the state’s largest teachers organization, the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), to alter its stands on teacher evaluation and advocate breaking from the traditional method of paying teachers was not such a huge surprise for those who had been following statements from union leaders in recent months. The educational and political landscapes have changed, and the union wants to play a role in big decisions coming soon.

But the WEAC stand in favor of breaking up Milwaukee Public Schools into “smaller, more manageable districts” caught people (count me in) off guard. It’s just not something to which the union had shown previous inclination. And the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, WEAC’s largest affiliate, strongly opposes such ideas.

There were clear indications in the way things happened this week that the gap between leaders of WEAC and the MTEA is now wide and sharp, and communication among them is not friendly.