Issue of the Week
City of Milwaukee-Operated Schools vs.Milwaukee Public Schools
Everyone agrees that MPSneeds reform. But what kind of reform will best serve the educational needs ofthe students? The business community, the governor and the mayor are pushingfor mayoral control of the schools, claiming that student performance wouldimprove if the mayor were in charge. But is that claim true? To find anunbiased answer, state Rep. Tamara Grigsby requested an analysis of the fivecharter schools under the control of the city of Milwaukee. The highly respected nonpartisanLegislative Fiscal Bureau found that over the past three years, only 49.6% ofstudents in the five city charter schools scored proficient or advanced inreading, while 59% of MPS students performed that well. In math only 32% of thecity charter school students scored proficient or advanced, compared to 45% forMPS students. Obviously, student reform is much more complicated than thissimplistic notion that a city takeover of the schools will improve outcomes. Infact, the objective results show just the opposite.
Hero of the Week
Jeff P. White
Along with everyone whovalues the First Amendment, the ShepherdExpress staff mourns the loss of Jeff P. White, who passed away Oct. 20following a protracted battle with pancreatic cancer. White was a lifelongchampion of free speech, and knew the irreplaceable value of the independentfree press. White, a professional journalist, wrote for many magazines andnewspapers. When a large East Side pharmacychain banned the Shepherd Express atthe whim of a new corporate policy, White led a successful protest to get the Shepherd back on the racksdespite thefact that White never wrote for or contacted the Shepherd Express. We salute White’s tireless efforts on behalf ofthe First Amendment and the local free press, and extend our condolences to hisfamily.
Jerk of the Week
MPS Board Member Bruce Thompson
After reading BruceThompson’s MPS takeover op-ed in Sunday’s JournalSentinel, we’re not sure what the point was supposed to be. But we’re surethat Thompson isn’t a credible source of information on school reform. To besure, he’s had his hand in many dubious reform efforts that have had adisastrous effect on the district he’s supposed to serve. Thompson is avoucher-friendly, pro-business, conservative gadfly who was board presidentwhen the $175 million Neighborhood Schools Initiative boondoggle was launchedin 2000. More recently, Thompson co-founded Advocates for Student Achievement,an MMAC- and Bradley Foundation-friendly “reform” group currently underinvestigation by the district attorney’s office for allegedly breaking campaignfinance laws this past spring. The group was supposed to deliver aThompson-friendly majority on the board. But when that failed and Michael Bondswas elected board president in April, the conservative business community’sattempts to take over MPS ramped up. So when Thompson says a takeover proposal“deserves a serious debate” and criticizes members of the MPS board forfighting the takeover, remember who’s pulling Thompson’s strings. It ain’t thevoters.
