Issue of the Week: Saving the Schools

Milwaukee Public Schools(MPS) Superintendent William Andrekopoulos unveiled his final budget last week,a grim document that notes MPS is “in financial crisis.” The budget was barelyintroduced before the district sent out postcards asking for voluntaryretirements and layoffs. They'll need a lot. Almost 700 full-time equivalentjobs may be eliminated, affecting more than 6% of MPS workers. AndAndrekopoulos' budget message predicts that funding for the next school year,when incoming superintendent Gregory Thornton takes over, will be even tighter.

That's why Congress andthe Obama administration should support a proposed $23 billion federaleducation jobs fund, $415 million of which would come to Wisconsin for immediate fiscal relief forschool districts. This is an investment in Wisconsin's future that will result inbetter jobs and more tax revenues in the years to come. As State SuperintendentTony Evers noted in letters to Sens. Feingold and Kohl, the deep cuts in schoolsaround the country come at the same time the federal government is asking ourschools to get better results. Keeping teachers and staff in the classrooms isabsolutely necessary in order to support a well-educated, 21st-centuryworkforce.

Hero of the Week

Loyal Mehnert

“Travelanthropy,” whichcombines travel and philanthropy, may not yet appear in Scrabble's officialdictionary, but for those who practice it, like Milwaukee's Loyal Mehnert, this service toothers can quickly become a way of life.

Mehnert's passion forhelping the less fortunate was sparked while working as a field mediaspokesperson for Habitat for Humanity. After witnessing the effects ofHurricane Katrina, Mehnert dedicated his life to raising money for Habitat forHumanity and other charities by participating in fund-raising adventure travel,both domestically and abroad. Although his efforts have taken him to more than20 countries and five continents, Mehnert describes himself as “an ordinary guywho wanted to make a change.”

This July, Mehnert willbe participating in the Habitat 500, a seven-day bike ride to benefit theongoing work of rebuilding homes along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. A launch party andfund-raising event will be held 9:30 p.m. May 22 at Comet Café.

Jerk of the Week

John Chianelli, Milwaukee CountyBehavioral Health Division Chief

John Chianelli should not be in charge of the safetyand well-being of the county's most vulnerable population. In defense ofmixed-gender wards at the county's mental health complexwhere sexual assaultshave come under scrutiny by everyone except Chianelli and his boss ScottWalker, it seemsChianelli argues that the possibility of sexual assaults offemale patients is a “trade-off” for fights among male patients ingender-segregated wards. In a sense, these women are prey for aggressive men inlocked wards. Even worse is Walker'ssupport for the policy, claiming “many experts believe this policy is good fortreatment as clients prepare to return to the community.” Have they no shame?