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Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MPS plans to enhance student voice in decision-making, ensure students have seat on board
Milwaukee Public Schools is looking to reaffirm a half-century-old policy that would allow students to have a consistent seat on the School Board. The policy reaffirmation is taking place to see what students want revised within the current legislation, said School Board President Missy Zombor. The board hopes to cut down barriers to participation and appoint a student representative to sit on the board. Zombor said students may currently struggle to participate due to the number of board meetings, which can be difficult to attend on top of schoolwork and personal responsibilities. Additionally, she said, some meetings may not feel relevant to students. Zombor is seeking student feedback on which meetings they think make the most sense for representatives to attend. "This is about opening up that conversation," Zombor said. "How do they envision what would give them the most impact, and give them the most access to the board in a way that helps them share what's most important to them?" MPS adopted Administrative Policy 8.18: Student Involvement in Decision Making in December 1971 and most recently revised the policy in July 2012. The policy states that as societal changes take place, schools make decisions that "vitally affect" students, who "wish to be involved in these decisions and express their feelings about them." The MPS Superintendent's Student Advisory Council, comprising student representatives from each high school in the district, seeks to create dialogue between students and the superintendent. Administrative Policy 8:18 states that the SSAC should develop a process for two students to be selected annually to sit with the board during deliberation. These two students are free to attend all non-executive board sessions, receive all nonconfidential materials and speak to the board, under the administrative policy. However, students on the board are not allowed to vote or make motions. Zombor explained that MPS is bound by state statutes that require voting members to be selected by the electorate. Despite this, she said the board will still try to give students to as much access as possible. "Having a student on the board helps remind us that every decision we make impacts students," Zombor said. "I'm really looking forward to reaffirming that policy." David Valdés, student engagement associate for SSAC, said it's important to him to see students expressing themselves freely to adults who are willing to listen. He cited school safety and mental health as two concerns that students frequently bring up in SSAC meetings. "We need to build a bridge so that our kids are able to speak openly about what's going on in their school without shame," Valdés said. "They should be able to have adults in their life in the district who are willing to listen to them." Having a student seat on a school board isn't unique to MPS, Zombor said. Some nearby school districts already have this in their administrative policy. Kaymin Phillips, a senior at Shorewood High School, has served as one of the Shorewood School Board student representatives for a year. The student body elected her in June 2024, and she began attending biweekly board meetings in September. Phillips said she applied for the position her junior year because she's always been interested in politics and felt it was a chance to be involved in a "mini government." "As a minority, I know a lot of people don't feel heard, and I know that having those voices in that type of seat is very important," Phillips said. "Being able to advocate for my fellow students and everything feels good, to know that we're helping make a difference." Phillips said it makes her hopeful to hear that MPS is working to implement student voices on its board. She said students should use the opportunity to speak up for their teachers with everything MPS is going through. On May 13, the Shorewood School Board voted unanimously to eliminate one staff position and reduce three other positions to part time. Phillips said she and other students pitched ideas to the board opposing the cuts and supporting their teachers. "My voice really helped during that decision," Phillips said. "I feel like they were just thinking of money, but not thinking of the students who it was affecting, cutting classes that we enjoy and cutting teachers." The policy reaffirmation will be requested at the Committee on Legislation, Rules and Policies meeting June 12. Zombor said the School Board has asked Valdés for any student-recommended policy changes and has invited students to reach out to board members directly with their thoughts. "This is a really great way for students to get involved in the district and get involved in change, and learn how one person can make change through policy," Zombor said. The immediate implementation of a student seat on the school board will depend on whether SSAC students can elect a representative by the beginning of the school year, Zombor said. She added that while the student representatives would ideally start by the September board cycle, she wants them to participate in some sort of orientation before jumping into meetings. In the future, Zombor said the policy can always be revised to reflect what works best for students. "I feel like a lot of schools might think it's cool to add a representative position just for the outside look and showing that 'We value our students,'" Phillips said. "But I think it's really important for the actual school members to be listening to what they say, instead of just having them there to listen." Contact Mia Thurow at mthurow@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS School Board president wants to add student seat
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MPS school resource officers; board, city near agreement deadline
The Brief Milwaukee Public Schools and the City of Milwaukee have a court deadline to place 25 school resource officers in schools by Monday. MPS made an offer to pay 33% of the costs for officers, as well as for training them, with the city paying the rest. It's a fight over how much the city pays and how much MPS pays – two pots of your tax money. MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee is likely to miss a judge's deadline to have school resource officers back in its schools. The backstory Wisconsin state law required Milwaukee Public Schools to bring on 25 school resource officers by January 2024. That date passed, and no police. Then, a whole year passed, and still none. Then, at the end of January 2025, a judge ordered MPS to follow the law, which is to bring back 25 school resource officers by Monday, Feb. 17, or come back to court to explain why it hasn't. What we know The sticking point was and still is: paying for the school resource officers. It's a fight over how much the city pays and how much MPS pays – two pots of your tax money. MPS board member Missy Zombor revealed the district's proposal: to pay 33% of the salaries and benefits for 25 school resource officers during the school year. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News "We've been negotiating with the city. Right now we have an offer on the table with the city: 33% plus training. We've offered to go to mediation. And so that's where it stands right now," Zombor said. "So, now we're waiting." Zombor said the district's early offer was to pay 25%, then, it went to 30%, and now it's offering to pay 33%. The other side City spokesperson Jeff Fleming wasn't happy private negotiations were shared publicly, sharing the following: "At the most recent negotiating session, MPS agreed to maintain confidentiality about the status and terms each side had proposed. It is highly disappointing MPS has broken that promise. To correct a misstatement made last evening, the City of Milwaukee first recommended mediation, and MPS subsequently appeared open to that. The city continues to act in good faith, and it is our hope we can resolve any differences through the mutually agreed upon process. So, for the time being we will not comment further on what is taking place at the negotiating table." In response, Zombor Zombor said she felt it was her responsibility to answer questions honestly and transparently. Dig deeper FOX6 tracked down previous contracts for school resource officers. The documents from 2009 and 2015 show an equal split of the costs: 50/50 for the city and school district just for the months the officers were working in the school program. The older deals also placed a cap on how much MPS would pay. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android Even if a deal was in place – and it's not – the law requires the officers to go through a specific 40-hour training program. State law says that Milwaukee officers will have to complete the 40-hour course of the National Association of School Resource Officers. What they're saying On the Milwaukee school board's agenda Tuesday night, Feb. 11, was the possibility to go into closed session to talk with attorneys about implementing the SRO requirement. When asked about implementing the requirement, MPS Board President Marva Herndon replied with the following: "Not at this time." When asked if SROs were discussed, she replied, "We did." Gov. Tony Evers said the following in a statement on Wednesday, Feb. 12: "MPS has been working diligently in recent weeks to make progress on this issue, and I'm glad to see this good-faith effort to try and reach consensus [...] Let's get this done." The Source The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
With a judge's Feb. 17 deadline approaching, MPS has an offer on the table for school police
With a judge's Feb. 17 deadline for compliance quickly approaching, Milwaukee Public Schools' board of directors and the city of Milwaukee are still negotiating on an agreement that would fulfill state law. The law requires the district to create a school-based police program. During a Tuesday night press conference about MPS' newly named superintendent, MPS board member Missy Zombor responded to a reporter's question with details about ongoing negotiations related to school resource officers. Zombor said MPS has an offer out to the city: for the district to pay for 33% of the cost of the school resource officer program, plus provide training for 25 officers and five alternates. "(Part of) the shared revenue sales tax deal, the city was the recipient of over $200 million. MPS was not a recipient of that money," Zombor told reporters Tuesday. She said the district had offered to conduct negotiations with the help of a mediator. Via email, the spokesperson for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Jeff Fleming, said MPS had agreed to maintain confidentiality about the status and terms of the ongoing negotiations about school resource officers. "It is highly disappointing MPS has broken that promise," Fleming said, declining to provide further details about the negotiations. "The city continues to act in good faith, and it is our hope we can resolve any differences through the mutually agreed upon process." Fleming also said the city had first offered mediation, not the district. Since Jan. 1, 2024, MPS has been required by a state law known as Act 12 to ensure 25 police officers are "present" in the district during school hours. MPS' lack of compliance with that law prompted a lawsuit by a district parent and the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. More: Despite MPS missing deadline, debate heats up on police in Milwaukee schools On Jan. 23, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Borowski ordered that MPS have police in place by Feb. 17. That created a deadline of just over three weeks for MPS and the city to finalize their negotiations. On Wednesday, Zombor acknowledged that discussions took place about not pursuing media with updates about the negotiations. However, she said that when asked by a reporter during a news conference, she felt it was her responsibility "to answer honestly and transparently." "We remain committed to continuing the conversation to come to a resolution," she said. More: In Milwaukee, police respond to thousands of calls to MPS: 'Why do we call the police?' Act 12 provided no funding to implement the school resource officer program, which is estimated to cost at least $2 million annually. Instead, it required the MPS board and the city to agree to an "apportionment" of the costs. Deciding who pays for that mandate has been an issue ever since, with the school board and city disagreeing about which party should be responsible. The issue of school police is tense in Milwaukee: MPS previously cut ties with police in June 2020 amid calls from local activists about over-policing of people of color in the wake of national protests over the murder of George Floyd. In a statement Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers said MPS has been working diligently in recent weeks to make progress. "I'm glad to see this good-faith effort to try and reach consensus. Let's get this done," Evers said. Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@ or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee schools make offer to fulfill Act 12 school police law
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Facing competition, MPS aims to open online-only K-12 charter school for $5.38 million
Next year, Milwaukee Public Schools could have a new K-12 charter school that operates fully online. On Jan. 30, MPS school board members will vote whether to approve a five-year contract for the Milwaukee Virtual School. If adopted, the contract would formalize MPS' existing online-only learning program created during the COVID-19 pandemic by turning it into a charter school beginning in the 2025-26 school year. As an instrumentality charter, the Milwaukee Virtual School would be operated by MPS staff using district funds. The $5.38 million cost of the Milwaukee Virtual School includes staff salaries, technology and supplies, curriculum and other costs. All students will be provided with a Chromebook computer, according to the program proposal. MPS intends to grow the virtual school's enrollment from 900 to 2,500 students in three years. It is designed for those who are "traditionally underserved" in the physical school environment, or need an online option due to safety, physical and mental health or family issues, according to the virtual school project proposal. MPS wouldn't be impacted financially if it doesn't reach the goal enrollment of 2,500 students in three years, Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan told MPS board members during a committee meeting on Jan. 16. "We expect to be able to meet those goals, and certainly mitigate any financial impact if we don't," Galvan said. More: What are charter schools? Here's what charter schools are and how they work in Wisconsin During the Jan. 16 meeting, MPS board member Missy Zombor shared specific concerns about student attendance and engagement with online classes. "I just want to make sure that we're not approving something and then forgetting about it," Zombor said. "That we're being very intentional, especially in those first few years, to make sure that progress is happening." According to the project proposal, virtual school students would take classes using a mixture of live instruction streamed via video camera, and "asynchronous," or self-paced online lessons. Students would be expected to meet with a mentor teacher each week about their progress. In response to Zombor's questions, Interim Chief of School Administration Michael Harris said MPS plans to work with parents and guardians to ensure students stay engaged with online classes. "Parents are really going to play a huge role. They know their child best," Harris said. "That's how we will be approaching this." The virtual school would lead an orientation for parents and guardians to learn about the technology their students will use, according to the project proposal. Parents and guardians would be given a "learning coach agreement," outlining the role they would be expected to play in ensuring their student learns at home. Students who do not maintain 60% attendance would be considered for probationary status, the project plan states. If they don't improve their attendance the following school semester, they could be "considered for reassignment" to another MPS school. Among MPS students, the virtual school would set aside 10% of seats for students on behavioral reassignments and another 10% for those taking advanced and accelerated coursework. Some of those students would take classes part-time. At the Jan. 16 meeting, Harris said the district has been tracking data on student enrollment into non-MPS virtual learning programs. MPS hopes to recruit students from those programs by offering extracurricular programs as part of its virtual school. "We feel confident with our marketing that we can attract those families back to us," Harris said. MPS' enrollment has been falling over time. That's both as the result of declining birth rates and loss of students to non-MPS charter programs and private schools that accept publicly-funded vouchers, according to a 2024 report by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum. Galvan said the district's existing virtual learning option showed MPS there are a "base number of students" who want virtual learning. "As parents continue this trend that were seeing... we hope this gives them a place to go so that they don't have to leave us," Galvan said. Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@ or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Public Schools plans to open online-only K-12 charter school
