So the Sen. Lena Taylor-written outline of the MPS takeover bill has popped up online and it’s even worse than I thought it would be. “Insulting” seems to be a good word for it.
It’s called the Milwaukee TEACH Act, even though the full name of the billthe Milwaukee Transforms Education for All Our Childrendoesn’t spell out the acronym TEACH, but TEFAOC.
In addition to Taylor. Sen. Jeff Plale, Sen. Tim Carpenter, Rep. Pedro Colon and Rep. Jason Fields have signed on to this thing. It’s currently being circulated for co-sponsors. And, yes, it isn't finished yet after months of debate.
In a nutshell, according to the Milwaukee TEFAOC Act, here’s how MPS would be structured:
- The mayor would hire and fire the superintendent.
- The superintendent would write the budget. The elected board could comment on the budget and request changes but could not actually make any changes to the budget.
- The superintendent would also be responsible for the curriculum, closing schools and facilities, and collective bargaining and contracts.
- The elected board could comment on the budget, work with the community and parents, and maintain policies for corporal punishment and discrimination, and a few other programs. “The board shall have no role in negotiating or approving the agreements with bargaining units.”
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- A Financial and Budget Advisory Commission would be created to advise the superintendent on the budget. The commission would include the city comptroller, the Common Council president, the school board president (or their designees) and two other members to be appointed by the mayor. “The commission shall have no authorities or powers.”
- Tenure for principals and other administrative managers would be eliminated.
- Milwaukee School Zones would be established.
- The public could vote on this proposal seven years after it’s been enacted.
In my humble opinion, I’ve just got to say that I can’t believe that I’m witnessing one elected body attempting to strip the powers of another elected body in such a brazen way, with no input from voters. In other cities where mayors have taken over school districts, there were years of discussions, referendums, negotiations and lawsuits to get to that point.
The voters did not approve this, nor was it even on the radar during the last major elections. Gov. Doyle did not campaign on this. Mayor Barrett did not campaign on this. State Superintendent Tony Evers did not campaign on this. (His opponent supported a temporary state takeover, and Evers won in a landslide.) Nor did Taylor, Carpenter, Plale, Colon or Fields support a MPS takeover during their most recent campaigns. Why do they think that voters want them to strip the elected MPS board of power? If they were so sure of Milwaukee’s support, they’d wait to put it on a ballot and let the voters decide.
Would these state legislators think would be OK if the governor or the federal government usurped their power?
And why must Milwaukeeans live with yet another rushed-through educational reform for SEVEN YEARS before we can weigh in on it? Why is a local educational issue specific to Milwaukee being decided at the state level, just like the choice program?
When I research and write about education issues I often think of a young student I had the privilege of mentoring this past year, and I ask myself, would this proposal help her? Would it keep her connected to school? Would it inspire her to stay in school and go on to college? Would it add more resources to her classroom, make her commute less onerous, ensure that she has after-school activities and lots of intellectual stimulation?
Frankly, I just don’t see that as the natural result of a mayoral takeover. This is a coup, a power grab. The ones who will benefit are those at the top, the elite circle of powerbrokers who won’t be responsive to an elected board, parents or the voters; the elites who can contribute large sums of money to candidates but wouldn’t think of actually running for the school board to make changes (that is, if they live in the city and are eligible to run).
And one other thingsince the voucher schools seem to be performing as well as MPS schools, will the mayor also take over that system? (Dream on.)
Are the takeover advocates paying attention to the real records of Arne Duncan in Chicago, Michelle Rhee in DC and Joel Klein in NYC? The abrupt school closings and layoffs and not-quite-reliable test scores?
It’s a shame that we’re wasting our time and energy on this takeover when we could be brainstorming ideas about how to help students like my young friend. She needs stability at home and stability at school. She needs nutritious food, clean clothes and quiet time to study and hang out with friends and family. She needs to stop bouncing from public school to voucher school and back to MPS. She needs to be encouraged and supported so that she will stay in school and develop to her fullest potential.
If only it were as simple as changing the superintendent.
The saddest part of this whole debate is that kids are just an afterthought, while the adults are tossing around dubious stats and test scores and platitudes and chasing microphones and the spotlight and campaign donations.
