Is the End (of MPS) Near?
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.)
