I almost did a spit-take when reading the Journal Sentinel’s write-up of Tuesday’s public hearing called by the Senate Education Committee on the proposed takeover of MPS.
Here’s the laff line:
Like the Milwaukee legislators who have split over the mayoral-control legislation, members of the public at the hearing were fairly evenly divided about whether allowing the mayor, rather than the School Board, to appoint MPS' superintendent was necessary to improve academic performance in the school system or a step backward for democratic representation.
Were we at the same hearing?
Because the hearing I went to had a crowd filled with opponents of the takeover.
True, the first hour and a half was taken up exclusively by takeover supporters, which merely allowed the committee to hear from its fellow legislators, the mayor and the secretary of the DOA. The public? Not so much.
But when the public did weigh in they did so in overwhelming opposition to the Taylor and Colon’s takeover proposal and in favor of the Grigsby/Coggs alternative, which would give the mayor some input on MPS, but not provide him (or her) with totalitarian power over the district.
Here are the facts: 101 people registered in support of the takeover.
|
|
But 295 registered in opposition to ita 3-to-1 advantage for the opponents.
Not exactly “fairly evenly divided,” as the JS reported.
I’ll have much more to say about the takeover, and who and what are really driving it, in next week’s Shepherd. Trust me: it’s juicy.
For more JS distortions on the takeover, check this out.
