State Rep. Tamara Grigsby and state Sen. Spencer Coggs called Mayor Barrett’s new “compromise” MPS reform offer “window dressing.”
And now that I’ve seen the details I’ve got to say that I agree.
Yes, Barrett can claim that he’s made an offer, but the mayor has “compromised” only on some peripheral matters, but not on the heart of the takeover as outlined in the Taylor/Colon bill, SB 405. And, yes, it’s scaled back from his initial proposal to be in charge of all facets of MPSbut wasn’t that a ridiculous starting point anyway? Talk about overreaching….
Anyway, here are the details. (I’ll post the whole deal after this blog entry):
- The mayor would appoint the superintendent. That’s what’s in SB 405. But Barrett’s compromise would allow the board to reject the pick if they can muster 3/4 of the board’s nine votes. Umm…. not likely that would ever happen. When does a veto require that many votes? Aren’t they usually 2/3 votes?
- The mayor and his or her hand-picked superintendent would craft the budget. The board could adopt it or amend it and then send it back to the mayor. But the mayor would have a line-item veto power, so he or she could strip out the offending items. The board could override those vetoes again, with a 3/4 supermajority.
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Barrett calls that a compromise because the Grigsby/Coggs plan would grant the mayor line-item veto power if the elected board’s budget would raise aggregate property taxes more than 8%. The board would be able to veto those changes, FYI. Under the Taylor/Colon bill, the board only could object to items in the budget but would not have any power to change it. Again, giving the mayor the authority to strip out board-created passages is no compromise at all.
- The elected boardwhich would otherwise be neutered because any meaningful actions would require a 3/4 votewould be in charge of some parent and student affairs. But, as I’ve argued before, this merely sets up a closed loop. Parents can complain about MPS, and the elected board will hear them, but they won’t be able to resolve big issues, like funding or school closings. As Katy Venskus, lobbyist for the pro-takeover Education Reform Now, put it in our interview last week, “They can’t put a gun to the head of the superintendent and say you have to do this.” Nice way to talk about Milwaukee voters and their elected officials, hey? Again, not-democratic at all.
- The mayor-appointed superintendent would still be responsible for contracts, labor negotiations and closing low-performing schools and reassigning staff without regard to seniority. Once again, this is crucial. Rememberthe superintendent doesn’t have to listen to parents. That’s the board’s job. And under this scheme, the board, as the parents’ representatives, wouldn’t have any power to act on parents’ concerns.
- School board elections would be moved to coincide with the mayoral election in spring. Grigsby/Coggs moved them to November, when turnout is highest. While Barrett’s so-called compromise could increase voter turnout a bit, Grigsby/Coggs’ plan goes much further.
- The 2017 referendum is still in place. If the takeover is such a good idea, why not let Milwaukee voters weigh in on it before it goes into effect?
Here's a comparison of the two original bills.
Here’s the text of Barrett’s so-called compromise:
School Accountability Compromise Proposal
Appointment of Superintendent:
Direct the mayor of the city of Milwaukee to appoint a superintendent of schools to serve at the mayor’s pleasure. The school board can reject the superintendent within 45 days of the appointment with a majority vote. Otherwise the appointment is confirmed. (Compromise)
Budget:
The Mayor and superintendent submit an annual budget to the elected school board. The school board could return the executive budget either adopted or amended and adopted for executive veto review. The mayor would have line-item veto authority and the board could override a veto with a majority. Public hearing process would still be required and the final budget would be sent to Common Council. (Compromise)
Elections:
School board elections would be held at the same time as the mayoral election (similar to Coggs/Grigsby) All candidates would be up for reelection in 2012 (or those in 2011 would be up in 2012 and those up in 2013 would be up in 2014 but only for two year terms). All candidates would be up for reelection in 2016.
Other roles of the Board:
MPS elected school Board would also have responsibility for: (similar to SB405)
a. Oversight of policies related to corporal punishment, pupil discrimination policies, expulsions.
b. Visiting schools/advising superintendent on instruction and progress of pupils
c. Allocating time for public comment at board meetings
d. Use of school grounds for public discussion, lectures.
e. Membership in School board organizations.
f. The board may retain an attorney to advise and represent it on matters relating to board governance and open meetings and open records, with city attorney approval.
g. Conducting survey of parents of enrolled pupils to advise the development or modification of parent involvement and school improvement plans (Coggs/Grigsby)
Other responsibilities of the Superintendent:
Any school district responsibility not explicitly granted to the mayor or the board in the bill would construe to the Superintendent.
In addition:
a. Superintendent shall appoint a bilingual-bicultural advisory committee. (SB405)
b. Superintendent may close low performing schools and may reassign staff from or to the school without regard to seniority (SB405)
Other provisions:
1) Create Opportunity/promise zones to provide comprehensive services to MKE children (both bills)
2) Require superintendent, Mayor to convene an annual meeting with education stakeholders (version in both bills).
3) Supt can only sign contracts relating to wages, hours, or conditions of employment with official labor organizations. (SB 405)
4) Referendum in 2017 (SB405)
5) Create a commission to develop a plan for addressing the unfunded liability of the school district operating under chapter 119 of the statutes. (Coggs/Grigsby)
a) Comprised of seven members – city comptroller, common council president, school board president, the state superintendent of public instruction or their designees and 3 members appointed by the mayor. (SB405)
