There’s little that can be done at the local level to undo state legislation.
But critics of the Republican-crafted state law authorizing Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele to take over and privatize Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) in his personal school district are trying to raise awareness of the harm it could do to local public schools and local control.
The Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program (OSPP), Abele’s soon-to-launch school district, allows him to appoint a commissioner who could take over and privatized up to three MPS schools in the 2016-2017 academic year, and up to five schools each year in the coming years.
On Friday morning, more than 100 MPS schools and all public schools in La Crosse participated in “walk-ins,” a way for parents and students to show support for public schools and oppose Abele’s takeover plan. Look for another walk-in and additional public actions in the coming months sponsored by a coalition of public school advocates organized as Schools and Communities United (SCU), according to Kim Schroeder, president of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association (MTEA), a member of SCU.
“We aren’t taking anything off the table,” Schroeder told the Shepherd.
Just hours after the walk-ins, the Milwaukee County Board’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee voted 4-1 to oppose Abele’s OSPP and asks the state Legislature to repeal it. Supervisor Jason Haas, chair of the committee, blasted the plan as “taxation without representation.”
“It is inconceivable to me that anyone believes that this law is anything other than undemocratic,” he said in a statement following the resolution’s passage.
Abele’s participation in the turnaround district could affect his expected run for re-election. His potential rival in spring 2016—state Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee)—participated in a walk-in and had sharp words about the county executive’s willingness to move ahead with the OSPP in spite of public opposition.
“It’s short-sighted on his behalf,” Larson told the Shepherd. “I think it is arrogant for him to be involved in this at all. Abele would do well to listen to the public.”
Erosion of Local Control and Accountability
Although Republicans used to rally around the notion of local control, the current crop of GOP legislators—with the active support of Abele, who claims to be a Democrat, and the blessing of the conservative members of the business community—have passed multiple bills that strip power from Milwaukee voters and taxpayers. State Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R-West Allis), a former county supervisor; state Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills); and state Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) have led the charge against Milwaukee. Act 14 in 2013 slashed supervisors’ power generally; Act 203 in 2014 stripped the power of the county board to oversee the county’s mental health services; a last-minute amendment to the new state budget gives Abele near-unilateral power to sell off non-park county-owned land, including the airport and zoo; and the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program (OSPP) takes power away from the democratically elected Milwaukee Public Schools board and gives it to Abele and his appointed commissioner.
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At the same time, Sanfelippo is seeking to rewrite the state constitution to allow the governor, and not state voters, to select the state schools superintendent, a way to consolidate power in the executive branch. As one former teacher and state legislator pointed out, “You have someone who failed to finish college, Sanfelippo, trying to give the power to appoint our superintendent of schools to another guy who couldn’t get through college, Walker. They just don’t seem to understand or respect education.”
The MPS takeover legislation would allow the Abele-appointed commissioner to fire teachers in the shuttered schools, turn the schools over to charter operators and funnel money from MPS to the students in the newly privatized schools. The bill provides no funding for the commissioner or the operations of the new district, which would be totally unaccountable to voters and taxpayers. Abele has no policy experience in education and, like Gov. Scott Walker, lacks a college degree.
Abele’s takeover district is part of a new wave of state-mandated, privatized turnaround districts popping up in primarily African American and Latino communities across the country, where residents lose their ability to vote for local school leaders. As the Shepherd reported earlier this month, the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools found that in the 2014-2015 academic year 101 schools were operated by state districts, 97 of which were converted to privatized charter schools. The more than 47,000 students enrolled in these turnaround schools are 97% African American or Latino. MPS continues that trend with its 81% black and Latino student population although it’s highly likely that Abele would shutter and privatize schools with a higher concentration of minority students who live in poverty.
The takeover plan didn’t get a public hearing in the state Legislature or any venue in Milwaukee. It was introduced in the Joint Finance Committee by authors Darling and Kooyenga as part of the budget process without a full public, transparent debate.
“They stuck it into the budget because they did not think it would pass as a separate bill,” said state Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) at the walk-in held at Fernwood Montessori School in Bay View.
Friday’s county committee meeting was the first formal public hearing in Milwaukee on Abele’s OSPP. Abele didn’t attend and was in Washington, D.C., instead. Melissa Baldauff, Abele’s spokeswoman, said the county executive is seeking out feedback on the plan.
She wouldn’t confirm if Abele would hold public hearings on his appointed commissioner. “Per state statute, the law requires that the county executive appoint a commissioner within 120 days of the state budget being signed, which is in mid-November,” she emailed. “Also per statute, the county executive has requested nominations from both the mayor and the governor. In addition to regular meetings with Superintendent Darienne Driver and School Board President Michael Bonds, the county executive has been actively seeking input from teachers, parents, community leaders and education stakeholders. That outreach, and the feedback it generates, is incredibly important and will continue in the coming weeks and months.”
Alexander Offends Teachers and Students
Not surprisingly, County Supervisor Deanna Alexander, an ambitious conservative who has supported Abele at almost every turn, was the lone vote to support Abele’s OSPP. But perhaps more surprising was Alexander’s willingness to offend MPS parents and teachers by claiming that MPS students “can’t read.”
In testimony before the board, MTEA’s Schroeder said he wasn’t sure if Alexander was speaking out of “ignorance” or “mean-spiritedness.” Activist and MPS parent and grandparent Angela Walker said Alexander’s comments were “out of touch.” MPS educator and MTEA Vice President Amy Mizialko simply told Alexander “don’t speak” about MPS’ challenges.
Schroeder, an MPS teacher, explained to the Shepherd why Alexander’s comments and assumptions were so “aggravating and insulting,” as he put it.
“It ignores every single reality that we face,” Schroeder said. “We have poverty. We have kids who suffer trauma. Our students live hard lives. And because of some standardized test they’re being labeled as failures. I have seen so many students come back over the years who were extremely successful who may not have been that great in school.”
He said Republicans who have stripped MPS of full funding now blame the district—and not their own policies—for MPS’ struggles.
“The right wing and certain politicians blame MPS for all of the problems,” Schroeder said. “And this is after [state Republicans] voted to increase the voucher program, increase privatization, pull more money out of MPS and drain us of resources. Then they say it’s broken.”
