Milwaukee Fire Department: Name Change

UPDATE, July 26, 2011: Aldermen balk at changing name of Fire Department
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Milwaukee Alderman Terry Witkowski wants to rename the Milwaukee Fire Department to Milwaukee Emergency Response Services.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The Milwaukee Common Council is considering a proposal by Ald. Terry Witkowski to rename the Milwaukee Fire Department as Milwaukee Emergency Response Services.

Witkowski said the change would better reflect the work of the department. He said only 7% of the department's calls are related to fire; the remainder range from paramedic services to chemical cleanups. The new name would save the department from criticism that it responds to relatively few fires, making the department less of a target during the city's next round of budget cuts, Witkowski said.

"A part of what makes me bring this forward is that every time we go through budget cuts, we hear about this 7%," Witkowski said Wednesday.

Witkowski added that the name change would cost very little - uniforms, engines and stationery with the new name would be ordered only as equipment wears out.

Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing agreed that the department was "a multiservice organization," but he remains wary of the way the alderman is pursuing the change. Rohlfing hoped that a name change would be accompanied by a larger discussion of the department's role in responding to the city's emergencies.

"Let's talk about it, you know, look at our mission, our vision, and look at what we want to change our name to, what best reflects what we do," Rohlfing said Tuesday. "One of the reasons they hang on to that name is tradition, pride and all those kind of things."

Rohlfing said he expects the firefighters union to oppose the name change.

...The ordinance will be considered at Thursday's meeting of the council's Public Safety Committee. If approved by the committee and the council, the name change will be effective in 60 days, although the department will continue to be officially chartered as a "fire department organization."

With all due respect, this is a lame idea, an utter waste, weird politics.

Does Witkowski really believe that a name change for the department would make it less of a target when it comes to budget concerns?

"Milwaukee Emergency Response Services" wouldn't be immune from budget cuts.

What an ineffective smokescreen!

Witkowski's plan to have "uniforms, engines and stationery with the new name... ordered only as equipment wears out" is ridiculous.

A name change would involve more than altering uniforms, engines, and stationery. Witkowksi doesn't consider other things such as equipment and signs and the fire stations themselves.

The process would take years, possibly decades.

Ask firefighters if they want to be called "emergency response service workers," since they really don't spend a lot of time responding to fires.

I don't think it would go over too well.

Should the Milwaukee Public Schools be renamed Milwaukee Public Child Warehouses, Meal Halls, and Leftist Indoctrination Centers, to better reflect the reality of what happens there?

Jason Fields (Audio, Transcript)

Wisconsin DEMOCRAT Rep. Jason Fields, while addressing the State Assembly, conducted himself more like a thug than a lawmaker.


Jason Fields, not shouting obscenities or throwing microphones

Of course, passions run high on certain issues, but that doesn't mean an elected official, like Fields from Milwaukee, should use profanity to degrade his colleagues.

During a heated debate on expanding the school choice program, Fields lost it. He acted like a thug, throwing the microphone after shouting to the Assembly, "You all are full of sh-t."

Here's the audio, from Wisconsin Radio Network:

AUDIO: Rep. Jason Fields – language warning (5:24)

Milwaukee-area lawmakers heaped heavy criticism on a bill expanding the city’s Parental Choice program, during debate on the bill Tuesday night. The legislation removes the enrollment cap for vouchers and expands the program to private schools in all of Milwaukee County.

Milwaukee Democrat Jason Fields (D-Milwaukee) accused lawmakers from both parties of playing with the lives of kids, angrily telling them to “knock it off.” Fields questioned why lawmakers have a problem with kids in MPS, before saying “you’re all full of (expletive)” and throwing his microphone.

Here's video of Fields being interviewed by Mike Gousha in March 2009.

It shows he's capable of conducting himself in an appropriate manner.

Clearly, Fields is very passionate about the issue of school choice and the plight of black kids in Milwaukee. It's a shame he couldn't control himself. Rather than delivering powerful remarks, they become lost in his anger and language. His message gets lost in his poor conduct.

I suppose Fields succumbed to frustration yesterday, but that's absolutely no excuse to yell at the Assembly, "You all are full of sh-t."

That's debate in Madison?

All members of the Assembly should have jumped to their feet and shouted in unison, "SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!"
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Transcript of Jason Fields' remarks to the Assembly, May 10, 2011

REP. JASON FIELDS: You know, I wasn't gonna talk on this kinda stuff because, quite honestly, I feel like it's futile. We've been here before. We do this all the time. And some of you are starting to piss me off. You couldn't just keep me cool. You're pissing me off with your tactics.

It's funny to me how you all have a say-so when it come to children in Milwaukee. You all got a say-so. I don't like the talk on this floor because, quite honestly, I don't even think the intellectual capital is that high.

We doin' this and at the end of the day, what is it about? What is it about?

Everybody, look at my face: You're pissing me off. Because it means NOTHING to you.

(Shouts)

NONE of you! You don't have kids in your house, you haven't taken care of 'em. But you got the morale. Really? Show me how many black men you've taken care of. YOU HAVEN'T. YOU HAVEN'T! I HAVE!

FOUR YOUNG BLACK MEN. NOBODY TOOK CARE OF NONE OF 'EM! BUT YOU GOT THE AUDACITY TO SIT HERE LIKE YOU DOIN' SOMETHING!?!? FOR REAL? FOR REAL!

WHERE ARE YOU? ALL OF YOU, where are you?

(Lowers his voice, but still angry)

You're quick to send 'em to jail. So let me get somethin' straight, because again, I don't like to talk about this kind of stuff because I, I... honestly, it ticks me off.

I think you have an amendment comin' from me. Y'all, y'all playin' with black kids, man, y'all playin'. All of you, you're playin'. Knock it off. Knock it off. You're playin'.

(Raises his voice)

The same people on my side of the aisle, you're, you know, with all due respect, knock it off. KNOCK IT OFF!

YOU DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THESE KIDS! And y'all has high morals. You ain't took none of 'em in! Where were they? Did they go to your house?

HELL NO! SO KNOCK IT OFF, WITH YOUR HIGH MORALS!

And with all due respect to my friends on that side of the aisle, I gotta say this: You can't show up and be like, you know, 'I'm gonna be cool with black kids today.'

You ALL are wrong! And you have been!

YOU DON'T SLEEP WITH 'EM! YOU DON'T SEE THE PAIN THEY GO THROUGH! I DO! Because I'm there. I'm there. They in my house. I feed them. I put 'em in dress shirts.

So which one of you will tell me that I'm wrong?

Stand up. Which one of you?

That's what I thought.

It's easy to pretend to be like this. It's easy, but honestly, I gotta be honest with all of you. I'm tired. Because I'm fighting for young black men and I'm tired. And you're not helping me, none of you. You're not helpin'.

You get caught up in school choice, MPS. Really? Did y'all notice that they all black kids? Did you all notice that? Guess what? The kids in MPS don't have a problem with the kids at the Milwaukee Parental Choice program. They don't have a problem with each other. So why do you?

Y'all are full of sh-t!

(Throws microphone down and walks away)

Bradley Tech Erupts -- AGAIN

UPDATE: 15 arrested after Bradley Tech fight

As many as 15 students were arrested after a fight at Bradley Tech this morning, including one who was accused of battery to a police officer, according to Milwaukee police.

District 2 Milwaukee police Lt. Marianne Rodriguez said one student was resisting arrest when an officer, 35, was hurt after a fight between two girls broke out at the school about 10 a.m. today. Police responded after about 100 students gathered to watch the fight and refused to disperse, according to school district officials.

The officer planned to seek medical treatment for minor injuries, according to Rodriguez.

She said the other arrests included seven for fighting, four to six for truancy and one for obstructing.

Police reports at District 2 this afternoon indicate that 27 students would be suspended.

Rodriguez said six to eight squads would remain at the school throughout the day.

Six to eight squads keeping order at a school? Wouldn't one squad be sufficient? How explosive is the situation?

It's unacceptable that those resources are being used to police a school rather than having them out on the streets.

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It was "CODE RED" at Bradley Tech High School this morning.

The school was on lockdown and a heavy police presence was called in to control the situation.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

School district officials are investigating at least one fight that broke out this morning at Bradley Tech High School, where about two dozen Milwaukee police cars responded to campus.

Most students have returned to the building. Police remain at the campus.

Roseann St. Aubin, spokeswoman for Milwaukee Public Schools, confirmed that some fights broke out and that Milwaukee police were called because some of the school's own safety aides were attending training off campus.

Jeremiah Mertens, a freshman who was leaving the school shortly after the earlier disturbances, said students were yelling "East side, west side," and estimated that students were fighting on all four floors of the school.

"There's crazy stuff going on in there," Mertens said. "I was on my way to the bathroom. It was just madness."

At least two students who were locked out of the building after an earlier lock-down were arrested by police. They said they were not involved in the fighting and had been told earlier by police to leave the building.

...At 10:55 a.m., administrators announced the change of class and said if students do not change classes in an orderly fashion, they would join the 13 students already outside, "whether you have a coat or not."

The Journal Sentinel provides this update:

School officials just announced that order has been restored at Bradley Tech High School, after a fight at the school earlier in the morning led to a larger disturbance and more than 20 Milwaukee police squad cars responded to the school.

Roseann St. Aubin, spokeswoman for Milwaukee Public Schools, said at Bradley Tech that the incident began as a fight between two girls in a common area that quickly drew about 100 other students. Some other fighting and scuffling followed, she said, but there were no injuries reported.

St. Aubin said school officials are sorting out possible discipline, including suspensions, for about a dozen students. She said some others had been arrested on truancy or resisting arrest charges.

Some of the safety aides at Bradley Tech were away at training this morning, St. Aubin said. While she said she was a little surprised by how many police arrived, she said the school district is not questioning the department's response and appreciates the help.

I certainly wouldn't fault the police response. It may seem a bit excessive to have twenty squads report to the scene, but Bradley Tech has had some high profile brawls.

In January 2007, there was the "family affair" fight turned brawl at Bradley Tech.

Police and Milwaukee Public Schools officials are blaming a cellular phone for causing a fight to escalate at Bradley Tech High School on Milwaukee's south side last week.

The school district said adults were called to join the fight. Some even showed up with small children in tow.

...[A]ccording to MPS, some girls who were fighting used their phones to call for backup.

[Peter Pochowski, a Milwaukee Public Schools Safety Coordinator,] said cell phone calls invited three carloads of outsiders to the fight.

"For those responsible persons, cell phones are not a problem. It's those irresponsible people, those students who call their family members who then call other family members, and have the audacity to come into a school," Pochowski said.

When the fists stopped flying, six teens and five adults were cited.

At the end of that same month last year, there was the Bradley Tech - Bay View brawl after a basketball game between the two schools.

An overtime victory by Bradley Tech over the visiting Bay View High School basketball team Tuesday night sent hundreds of fans onto the court, sparking a disturbance that injured four police officers and two students and led to at least 10 arrests, officials said.

A female spectator suffered a seizure at the height of the disturbance and required medical attention at the scene, Milwaukee Public Schools spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin said.

Dozens of Milwaukee police officers from all parts of the city were dispatched to the school, 700 S. 4th St., about 9:30 p.m. after the end of the game, in which the Tech Trojans defeated the Bay View Redcats, 82-81.

Lt. Alfonso Morales of the Milwaukee Police Department's Criminal Investigation Bureau said four police officers and two female students, one of whom had the seizure, suffered minor injuries.

The disturbance "was the result of fans rushing the court to celebrate and students from Bay View not being too happy about that," Morales said.

"Tech won the game, and then some kids from Bay View jumped a Tech kid," said Myisha Milton, a Bradley Tech ninth-grader.

The Police Department issued an all-city call upon hearing reports of the disturbance, resulting in a widespread police response, Morales said.

Watch video of the brawl.

FIFTY squads were sent to that scene. FIFTY.

There have been other problems at Bradley Tech; much lower profile incidents, but disturbing nonetheless.

For example, from April 26, 2007:

A 15-year-old boy remains in custody today after school officials at Bradley Tech High School followed up on a tip that allegedly led them to a loaded handgun and marijuana in his locker.

Police were called to the school, 700 S. 4th St., about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Officers arrested the student on charges of possession with intent to deliver and possession of a dangerous weapon by a child, according to Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz.

Schwartz said there are officers assigned to the school, however, they were at a district station processing another arrest from the school that occurred earlier in the day.

Bradley Tech is no dump. It's a $50 million state of the art facility. The late Jane Pettit donated $20 million as the lead gift to renovate the school.

The students who attend Bradley Tech are being offered a tremendous educational opportunity.

And in spite of being in this incredible learning environment, some students there prefer to behave like thugs.

They are literally throwing away their futures when they throw away their education.

No one can say that the problems at Tech can be traced to students being trapped in a decrepit facility.

The fact that Bradley Tech students are so fortunate to have the opportunity to get a quality education makes these brawls all the more disturbing.

Hand opportunity to these students on a silver platter and they don't take it.

As far as today's incident goes, it's troubling to hear that a disagreement between two girls can quickly escalate into a brawl 100 students strong.

According to St. Aubin, "some of the safety aides at Bradley Tech were away at training this morning."

That sounds kind of lame. How many aides does the school have? How many were away? Is she suggesting that if those safety aides had been there police wouldn't have been needed?

Whatever.

This morning's trouble is just another indication of what a mess Milwaukee is.

What's the problem? No hope?

Isn't a $50 million public school a sign of hope?

Apparently not.

Doyle Cancels Meeting with Kessler

Why did Governor Jim Doyle's staff cancel a meeting on Monday with School Choice enemy Rep. Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee)?

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Gov. Jim Doyle's staff on Monday canceled a meeting with Rep. Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee) that had been set for today so Kessler could present ideas for revamping Milwaukee's school voucher program.

...Kessler circulated a memo last week to seven other Milwaukee Democrats in the Assembly, suggesting that his proposals would help correct funding problems for Milwaukee Public Schools and lead to a reduction in enrollment in the voucher program of nearly 40%.

Prominent voucher school advocates reacted strongly to Kessler's ideas, saying the changes would damage the voucher program, increase overall costs for educating Milwaukee children and deny many parents the range of choice they now have.

Kessler said he was not told why Doyle's office canceled the appointment, and a new date was not set.

That's weird. Kessler didn't receive any explanation at all for the cancellation?

Avoiding the issues won't make them go away. Doyle can't keep his head in the sand.

Kessler's ideas drew political ire Monday as voucher supporters mobilized. Doyle took heat from all sides in 2005, when the voucher law was changed to expand the program to as many as 22,500 students while adding provisions such as an accreditation requirement.

...Kessler's ideas include reducing voucher payments to some schools that give scholarships to students who don't qualify for vouchers, and limiting voucher payments to no more than the amount charged for tuition for nonvoucher students. Currently, voucher payments are based on the amount a school spends to educate a child, up to $6,501. Some schools charge lower amounts for tuition to nonvoucher students.

He estimated that if his ideas were adopted, voucher enrollment would fall from more than 19,000 students to perhaps less than 12,000.

Gee, I wonder why Kessler's ideas "drew political ire."

Perhaps because as "Susan Mitchell, president of School Choice Wisconsin, said 'the impact of the Kessler plan likely would be a near or complete shutdown' of the voucher program."

"At this point," Kessler said, "it's probably unlikely that the voucher program would end because of the number of students involved. I am a believer in free public education, and I am deeply concerned about efforts to privatize education because I think that ultimately works to the detriment of poor people."

Kessler is blind. Maybe he's not really blind. He's just choosing to close his eyes.

School Choice doesn't work to the detriment of the poor. How? By giving parents choice when it comes to their children's education? How is that detrimental?

Kessler claims to believe in "free public education."

Hey! Kessler! It's not free. Taxpayers fund public education.

He says he's worried about privatizing education. What he's really concerned about is parents being able to decide where they want their children to go to school. He doesn't want all kids to have the same opportunities.

Clearly, Kessler's ideas are aimed at chipping away at the voucher program. He wants to eliminate it altogether. That's the goal, not better education for Milwaukee's kids.

He has a problem with using tax dollars to empower parents to provide their children with an education at the school of their choice.

He's worried about poorer children breaking free of the public school monopoly.

Kessler wants to stand in the way of equal educational opportunities for all kids.

Opponents of School Choice, like Kessler, do not have the best interests of the children at heart.

They would rather trap the poor in failing schools and doom them to bleak futures.

Meanwhile, Doyle tries to run and hide.

Think of how many more students' lives might have been improved, their futures altered for the better, if Mark Green had been elected.

The MPS Report Card

Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent William Andrekopoulos is troubled by data showing that Milwaukee may have the highest suspension rates in the country.

The figures are part of the MPS Report Card, a report examining the performance of city schools.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Accompanying the release of a mass of data about the performance of schools in Milwaukee, Superintendent William Andrekopoulos is calling for substantial changes in the way teachers and schools handle the suspension of students for behavior problems - suspensions that come by the thousands.

"We're doing a lousy job of sending kids out of the classroom," Andrekopoulos said in an interview. He added that Milwaukee Public Schools may have the highest suspension rates in the country. Nearly half of all ninth-graders, for example, are suspended at least once a year, and many of those students are suspended multiple times.

Andrekopoulos said he has asked the Council of Great City Schools to analyze suspension practices in Milwaukee and make recommendations on how to reduce the rate. The organization, which has 66 large urban districts as members, provides consulting services on such issues.

Too many suspensions, which usually involve ordering a student out of a school for one to three days, are for minor matters, he said, such as routine classroom disruption.

The dilemma of suspensions is that while teachers often seek them to deal with disruptive students, those students can't be educated while they are out of school. While many teachers say they spend too much time dealing with a handful of misbehaving students rather than teaching the bulk of their students, Andrekopoulos argues that ways can be found to keep many of those students in class or, in the alternative, at least keep them in school.

"The suspension data is terrible," he said. "This is a grave concern that I have as superintendent."

He said he wants to see a big push in coming months for improvements in how teachers handle classroom behavior issues and how students are led to become engaged in school. This could take more professional development work for teachers, different approaches to instruction, more counseling for students, and creation of more alternatives within schools for misbehaving students, he suggested.

Almost half of all 9th graders receive at least one suspension.

That's a shocking statistic.

Andrekopoulos says that students are suspended for "minor matters."

He makes it sound like kids are being suspended for the slightest offenses. While it's appropriate to respond to this embarrassing suspension rate, I think Andrekopoulos is troubled for the wrong reasons.

Rather than complaining that students are being suspended inappropriately, he should be upset that so many students are behaving in an unacceptable manner. I highly doubt that they are being suspended for little things.

Other points of interest from the report:

• The ninth-grade "parking lot" problem remains big. In 2006-'07, the percentage of eighth-graders promoted to ninth grade was 97.1%, a slight increase from earlier years. But many kids get stuck there - there were 9,002 freshmen that year, more than 2,000 more students than in any other grade in MPS. Thirty percent of ninth-graders were repeating that grade. Academic success among freshmen overall was not good. Forty percent had grade point averages of a D (1.0) or worse. Only 33% had averages of C (2.0) or better. Ninth-grade attendance was 76%, the lowest of any grade in MPS. "We're leaving too many kids behind at ninth grade," Andrekopoulos said.

Would Andrekopoulos prefer that the 9th graders just be pushed through?

The onus is on the students, with urging from their parents, to perform at a level that makes them worthy of moving on to 10th grade. Forty percent had a D average or worse and just 33% were at C better. That absolutely sucks.

It sounds totally appropriate to require the students to repeat 9th grade if they aren't performing. If they aren't ready to work at a 10th grade level, it would be doing them a disservice to advance them.

It shouldn't be surpising that 9th graders are doing so poorly, considering that attendance for that grade was just 76%.

Andrekopoulos is upset about suspensions. He wants students to remain in school instead of being punished with suspensions. OK, but a quarter of 9th grade students are choosing not to show up in the first place and those attending cause problems when they're there. That's terrible.

The suspensions themselves aren't the problem. The reasons for the suspensions is the problem. The suspensions are a symptom, a manifestation of out of control students and academic failure.

Gee, I wonder if there's a correlation between horrible attendance and horrible academic performance and being left back.

Maybe someone should do a study on that.

The MPS Report Card does cite attendance as being a "serious problem."

• Attendance overall showed little change and remains a serious problem. The average attendance, when all grades are put together, was 87.7%, with elementary grades the highest (92.6%) and high school grades the lowest (79.4%). Attendance overall was down slightly from the prior year.

That sucks, too. No improvement has been made in attendance. ZERO.

The first rule for academic success: SHOW UP FOR CLASS.

Students have to be in the classroom on a regular basis.

The fact is the parents of students are failing to monitor their children and emphasize the importance of working hard in school.

A good education is a passport to success as an adult.

Furthermore, students must actively take advantage of the educational opportunities being provided to them at taxpayer expense. "Getting" an education is not a passive process. Students have to make it happen. And parents have to make sure their children are doing the right things to succeed.

Too many MPS students have no respect for education and their parents obviously aren't holding their children accountable for not applying themselves.

The latest crap being touted at workshops and the implementation of new techniques by MPS teachers can't take the place of parental involvement in their children's education.

More than anything, the MPS Report Card reveals just how widespread the problem of dysfunctional families in Milwaukee is.

Of course, if one has an entitlement mindset, education isn't necessary. Why bother when government handouts are available?

Today's failing students are tomorrow's criminals.

The MPS Report Card is really like a predictor for the future of Milwaukee, reaching far beyond the school system.

The future looks terribly bleak.

Bay View - Custer Brawl Didn't Happen

A black eye for MPS was avoided last night.

History almost repeated itself. The situation at Custer High School was on the verge of being a replay of the Bay View - Bradley Tech post-basketball game brawl last January.

Once again, Bay View High School students were involved.

MILWAUKEE -- One year after a melee broke out during the Bradley Tech High- Bay View High basketball game, a similar crisis was avoided during the Custer High- Bay View High game.

“It was crazy,” said Custer shooting guard Jonathan Cousin. “People running on the court while the game was going on.”

Milwaukee Police didn’t wait for a fight to break out. They moved right in and cleared the gymnasium. All spectators were told to leave. The game was then allowed to continue without an audience.

...No arrests were made Friday night.

People running on the court during the game?

I think police were completely justified in clearing the gym.

Clearly, there were signs that trouble was brewing.

After the brawl last year, MPS chose to "severely limit" the fans able to attend Bay View and Bradley Tech basketball games.

620 WTMJ reported:

MPS Spokeswoman Roseanne St. Aubin says for the foreseeable future, MPS will only give two tickets to each player on the two school's teams. The players are only allowed to give those tickets to their parents or guardians. That would mean there can only be a maximum of 24 fans in the stands for each team when they play. St. Aubin says the restriction won't affect the opposing team for the schools.

Perhaps that policy should be implemented again.

Kevin Ball Really Tips the Scale

It's one thing to be a Milwaukee Public School Teacher accused of running a drug house. But using MPS property as equipment in its operation?

That's an outrage.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Police searching a suspected drug house belonging to a Custer High School science teacher found a large scale with apparent drug residue and marked with the Milwaukee Public Schools logo, according to a criminal complaint.

Officers searching the home of Kevin Ball in the 3500 block of N. 48th St. also found about 11.4 ounces of cocaine, 4.06 grams of marijuana, a bulletproof vest and a Chinese SKS semiautomatic rifle, according to the complaint.

Ball, 43, has been an MPS employee since 1991, and has been placed on paid suspension pending the outcome of the case against him, MPS spokesman Phil Harris said Friday.

Ball's employment status with the district will be reviewed once the case is concluded, Harris said.

Ball remained in the Milwaukee County Jail on Friday night under $25,000 bail.

He is charged with possession with intent to deliver cocaine while armed, keeping a drug house and possession of marijuana.

According to the complaint issued Wednesday, police investigating reports of large amounts of illegal drugs, drug sales and firearms at Ball's home followed him when he left the residence in his van just after 1 p.m. Dec. 28.

After pulling over the van, police found a loaded magazine for a .380 caliber pistol on Ball, who consented to a search of his home. He told officers that he had a .380 caliber pistol and a small amount of marijuana inside the residence, but also said items in a basement closet did not belong to him.

The evidence against Ball is so damning.

Isn't it great that Ball is still being supported by taxpayers during his suspension?

Good grief.

Kevin Ball

This has been a bad couple of months for science teachers.

James Buss and Jeff Scheidemantel, both high school chemistry teachers, have had their problems.

Unlike Scheidemantel, the teacher accused of making meth in the school lab, Buss wasn't involved in drugs. He wasn't even charged for making what fellow teachers considered to be an online threat. But like Scheidemantel, he has had issues and a brush with the law.

Add another name to the list of science teachers behaving badly: Kevin Ball.

From TMJ4:

A teacher with Milwaukee Public Schools has been busted for running a drug house.

The suspect is a science teacher at Custer High School.

...Students at Custer High describe Kevin Ball as a good and dedicated teacher who truly seems to care about them. News that Ball was arrested for allegedly dealing drugs out of his house came as a huge surprise and disappointment.

“I believe that it’s not right, I mean, he's supposed to be an example for his students and why would he do that. He always tells other people about selling drugs saying that’s not right,” Custer student Carissa Burnett said.

Milwaukee police say they found cocaine, marijuana, scales and two guns inside his home.

Apparently, Ball is a "do as I say, not as I do" kind of teacher.

It's possible that Ball knows the difference between right and wrong, but he may have addictions that he needs to feed.

TODAY’S TMJ4 tried to get a comment from him, but he didn't answer the door. Ball doesn't have any felonies, but court records show he was convicted of misdemeanor prostitution 15 years ago.

So a misdemeanor prostitution conviction isn't a disqualifier to be an MPS teacher.

OK.

What's striking about Ball is that he's an educated man with a good job.

He's not running a drug house because he has no skills and no hope of being a functioning member of society. He's not a victim of poverty, helpless and despairing.

Whatever reason Ball ALLEGEDLY turned to crime, it can't be because he believed a bright future was out of his reach. He has a college education and is employed.

Milwaukee Public Schools face an uphill battle keeping students from becoming involved in drugs and making bad choices. The teachers should be serving as role models for the kids, especially those living in poor home environments and crime-infested conditions.

Ball, however, may have been involved, directly or indirectly, in his students' corruption.

Really sick. Really sad.

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UPDATE: Split decision for ex-teacher in drug trial

A jury found a former Custer High School science teacher guilty of a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana but acquitted him of the more serious charge of maintaining a drug house, a felony.

Kevin Ball, 44, was suspended after his arrest in December 2007, according to his lawyer, Gary Rosenthal, who said Ball is no longer employed by Milwaukee Public Schools.

Police searched Ball's home in the 3500 block of N. 48th St. Ball acknowledged that marijuana found in his home belonged to him but denied that cocaine, the MPS scale and a bullet-resistant vest found in the basement of the home were his.

Another felony charge of possessing more than 40 grams of cocaine with intent to deliver while armed was dismissed before this week's trial.

Two Pulaski High School Students Shot Near School

Pulaski High School has served as a place of learning in Milwaukee since 1933.

It stands in the shadow of the busy retail area of South 27th Street.

The sprawling Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center is located just west of the school.

The city of Milwaukee Police Department Sixth District station borders Pulaski High School.

Pulaski's nearly 75 year history and what would seem like its secure location in a relatively stable area of the south side doesn't make it immune from trouble. Far from it.

Earlier this year, there was the matter of a student bringing a loaded gun to school and a teacher failing to inform authorities in a timely manner after seeing the student in possession of the gun.

Shortly after that came the embarrassment that on the same day, there was brawl in a classroom, complete chaos.

Video of the fight made it on to YouTube, but it was removed.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The videotaped fight did not leave either of the central parties injured, but the 52-second video clip posted on YouTube showed one swinging aggressively at the other and, at one point, slamming him into a radiator. One student made an attempt to break up the fight but others appeared to cheer it on.

...[St. Aubin] said the students involved were ninth-graders.

She said: "It's disturbing to watch. We're very unhappy that the incident happened. It almost becomes a secondary matter that it's posted on a well-viewed Web site. It just should never have happened."

Two students have been disciplined, she said, but she gave no details. Based on what can be seen in the video, "other student activities are under investigation," she said.

"The lack of student supervision is under investigation by the district administration," she added, and she expected MPS officials to involve police in that matter as well.

There was more trouble at Pulaski yesterday. Unlike the other incidents I mentioned, this one didn't happen in the school during school hours. However, it did involve two Pulaski students and occurred nearby.

Two in custody in Friday shooting

Two people are in custody and being questioned in connection with the Friday shooting of two teenage girls on the city's south side, Milwaukee police said today.

Police described the shootings as gang-related and said it stemmed from an argument the previous day.

In custody are an 18-year-old man and 16-year-old boy.

The girls, ages 14 and 15, both students at Pulaski, were shot around 5 p.m. Friday in the 2400 block of S. 19th St.

The younger girl, who suffered a graze wound to the head and a bullet wound to the arm, was treated and released from a local hospital, said Milwaukee Police Capt. Darlene Jenkins.

The 15-year-old, who was struck in the back, remains hospitalized in good condition, Jenkins said.

Milwaukee needs to take some dramatic action to stem the gang problem.

Does Mayor Tom Barrett think that he can wash his hands of responsibility for Milwaukee kids shooting other Milwaukee kids on a busy late afternoon now that he has Ed Flynn coming in to save the day?

These girls are lucky they weren't killed.

Shots being fired at 5:00 PM nearby an area crowded with cars filled with shoppers and people going to and from St. Luke's is just horrible.

Barrett loves tossing around the word "renaissance."

He says, "There is really a renaissance going on in Milwaukee."

Someone should tell him there's a gang war going on, too.

Is it any wonder that long-time residents are fleeing the city?

There is a tipping point.

To Close School or Not to Close School

The media treated yesterday's storm as if it were a holiday.

Newscasts were loaded with video of kids and parents sledding and building snowmen and having all sorts of winter fun.

"Send us your photos!"

The storm that caused the Milwaukee Public Schools to cancel classes, a rarity, was being reflected upon with the focus on the fun. You'd never know that this was a dangerous storm by watching news reports.

Even though the extreme danger didn't materialize, there was controversy over school closings.

Parents in the Elmbrook school district were irate because those schools remained open.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Elmbrook School Superintendent Matt Gibson was lambasted and praised Tuesday after he bucked a trend and kept the district's schools open despite the avalanche of closings throughout the Milwaukee area.

After virtually every other public school district and most parochial schools closed, the phones rang off the hook at Elmbrook. At some schools 20% to 30% of parents kept their children home due to the forecast mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. And many others picked up their children early.

At Fairview South, a cooperative special education school Elmbrook operates that serves students from several area counties, 74% of students did not attend.

Gibson said staying open was a difficult decision to make, but the forecast and road conditions within Elmbrook's boundaries did not appear to warrant a closure.

"There probably aren't any right decisions here," Gibson said. "On balance, I like to save snow days for more extreme conditions than we had this morning, knowing we live in Wisconsin and Wisconsin winters can have more extreme conditions."

Other school districts saw the forecast differently and were more concerned about the possibility of icy roads, especially at the end of the school day.

...Gibson said Elmbrook's policy is to announce any closures by 5:30 a.m. to give parents as much notification as possible. He decided the forecast and local road conditions did not necessitate closure but continued to talk to other districts from 5:30 to 6 a.m.

That's when he saw most districts starting to cancel. Milwaukee Public Schools announced at 6 a.m. it was closing, about an hour later than usual.

...Traffic was slow-moving on slippery roads, with some vehicles sliding into ditches, but no major accidents were reported in the Elmbrook area. By school closing time, winter storm warnings had expired and skies were clear.

But some parents blasted Elmbrook's decision, saying it put students and teachers in a dangerous situation.

Parent Lori Davis said the roads were treacherous as she drove to pick up her children at the end of the day.

"I should not have been out driving today," she said. At least one K-8 parochial school in Brookfield also stayed open Tuesday because it uses Elmbrook's buses and follows whatever Elmbrook decides, said one parent who would not disclose the school's identity.

"They should not have stayed open," parent Amy Roberts said. "What happens when the first child dies or the first teacher gets seriously injured in a bad accident?"

But others said Elmbrook made the right call.

As it turns out, Elmbrook did make the right call.

Ice wasn't an issue. The snow stopped and roads weren't treacherous by mid-afternoon.

Based on news reports, parents took their kids sledding. They used the day to go shopping. They went to malls. Some went to the Country Springs Water Park in Waukesha.

News crews were out documenting all the fun that people were having.

Things were a bit dicey early in the day, but that didn't keep kids and parents confined to their homes.

Isn't that what school closures are about? The purpose: Stay off the roads.

School should be cancelled when travel is extremely dangerous or conditions are so poor that it's impossible to get out of the driveway.

Obviously, plenty of people got out of their driveways.

"What happens when the first child dies?"

Come on.

How to Succeed in School

Here's a novel idea on how students can improve their academic performance at school. It's very simple -- SHOW UP!

There's more negative news coming from the Milwaukee Public Schools.

MPS attendance slipped a bit last year.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Attendance in Milwaukee Public Schools dropped slightly last year, with a bit steeper decline among high school students.

Despite all the attention that has been focused on the need for better attendance, getting kids into school continues to be a major problem in thousands of cases. Overall attendance has been flat in MPS for at least the last eight years and substantially trails behind any other school district in Milwaukee County.

Attendance is one area where common sense and data generally merge: Kids can't learn if they're not in school, and the worse the attendance, the worse a student's problems in school tend to be.

A new report from MPS administrators says attendance overall in 2006-'07 was 87.96%, down more than 0.3% from the prior year. Overall attendance in MPS has hung close to 88% for years.

Jennie Dorsey, the new head of the MPS department that oversees issues including attendance, said she could not give a specific cause for the downturn or assess its significance.

She said a grant from the state Department of Public Instruction was allowing MPS to spend $510,000 more this year on efforts by social workers and social work assistants to deal with children and families with attendance problems. Dorsey said MPS officials hoped attendance systemwide would go over 90% in coming years.

Overall, the report says, MPS students missed more than 1.8 million days of school last year and were in school for nearly 13.7 million days. About 36% of absences were excused and 64% were not excused.

High schools continue to have the worst attendance and provided the biggest decline last year, from 80.4% to 79.6%. While attendance in high schools has improved from under 78% a few years ago to around 80% in recent years, that still means 1 in 5 students is not present in school on a typical day.

All those unexcused absences are inexcusable.

On a typical school day, 1 in 5 students are absent.

That's awful.

...In general, attendance problems are not spread evenly - many students have excellent attendance records, while a concentration of kids have chronic problems getting to school.

So, kids have chronic problems getting to school.

Doesn't that make it sound like there are barriers preventing them from attending?

They can't get to school.

That's misleading. The kids could get there, but they don't go.

In previous years, MPS researchers have put together figures showing that grade-point averages of students who attend at least 90% of the time were substantially higher than grade-point averages of students with attendance problems.

DUH!

Was it really necessary for MPS researchers to check that out?

Of course, students who show up for class have higher grade-point averages than the students who don't go.

Again, I say, DUH! I say, Double Duh!

Jennifer Morales Has a Dream

Milwaukee School Board member Jennifer Morales thinks quite highly of herself.

She feels a kinship with Martin Luther King, Jr.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee Public Schools took a major step Tuesday night toward becoming the first public school district in southeastern Wisconsin to offer fringe benefits to domestic partners of employees.

The School Board's Finance Committee voted 4 to 1 to recommend a resolution proposed by board member Jennifer Morales that the board support "equal provision of employment benefits regardless of an employee's sexual orientation or family status."

...Approval by the School Board at its Nov. 30 meeting is likely. The resolution calls specifically for offering the benefits to 113 employees, most of them top officials, who are not represented by unions. But MPS administrators said that by passing the resolution, the board would all but commit itself to including domestic partner benefits in employee contracts.

...Dennis Oulahan, president of the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, said benefits for partners had attracted far more support among union members than any other proposed contract change. He said the union did not want to wait until the contract expires in 2009 to add the benefits.

...About 100 people, many of them teachers, attended the meeting to show strong support for the measure. Of 22 people who spoke, only one opposed the measure.

Much of the testimony described the proposal as a matter of fairness and as a way to attract and keep employees.

Brian Babbitts, a teacher at Reagan High School, said he loved his job and that he and the man he married in Vermont would like to stay in Milwaukee, but "family comes first." The benefit provision would be an important factor in planning their future, he said.

The proposal can be summed up with three words: MORE, MORE MORE.

The board did more on Tuesday night than just vote to recommend Morales' proposal.

It voted to send a letter of condemnation to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for writing a story and headline that stated Morales stood to benefit personally from her proposal.

In other words, the board is criticizing the Journal Sentinel for reporting the truth.

Several board members criticized a story in the Journal Sentinel on Tuesday about the proposal. The story said Morales would benefit if the benefits were included in the teachers' contract because she has a committed relationship with an MPS teacher, Tina Owen. Teacher benefits include lifetime contribution to health insurance costs, while board members lose the benefit when they leave the board.

The board voted 4 to 1 to send a letter to the Journal Sentinel criticizing the story and headline for saying Morales would benefit. Board President Peter Blewett said the story "mischaracterized" the proposal and that Morales had no conflict of interest.

Morales said that when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. desegregated drinking fountains, "nobody said, 'and don't take anything for yourself.' " She said her resolution said, "Let's be fair to everyone."

Good grief.

The reach of the civil rights movement and a proposal to extend lifetime insurance benefits for domestic partners of MPS employees are in completely different leagues.

It's an insult to compare the two.

Morales is no King.

Furthermore, why is Morales pretending that this costly proposal doesn't serve her interests?

She says, "It's not about me, it's not about Tina."

Of course it is.

Would Morales get extended coverage if the proposal passed? Yes, because of her partner.

Good grief.


How is the proposal not about Morales and Tina?

The entitlement mentality at play here is stunning.

Significantly expanding the number of people covered by health insurance through MPS should concern taxpayers.

I highly doubt that the proposal will translate into improved performances by Milwaukee's public school students.

MPS Rips Off Milwaukee Taxpayers

In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin schools get more bad press.

Hillary Clinton and her campaign might refer to it as "piling on."

The unavoidable reality is that Wisconsin schools are failing its students; and by failing the students, the schools fail the communities.

Education Sector, a non-profit group, finds fault with the picture that Wisconsin officials paint of the schools.

Wisconsin - especially the state Department of Public Instruction - continues to avoid taking steps to increase the success of low-performing children in the state, a national non-profit organization says in a report released today.

For the second year in a row, Education Sector put Wisconsin at the top of its Pangloss Index, a ranking of states based on how much they are overly cheery about how their students are doing. Much of the ranking is based on the author's assessment of data related to what a state is doing to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind education law.

"Wisconsin policy-makers are fooling parents by pretending that everything is perfect," said Kevin Carey, research and policy manager for the organization. "As a result, the most vulnerable students aren't getting the attention they need."

...The report is the latest of several over the last two years from several national groups that have said Wisconsin is generally not doing enough to challenge its schools and students to do better. The groups can be described politically as centrist to conservative and broadly supportive of No Child Left Behind. Education Sector's founders include Andrew Rotherham, a former education adviser to President Bill Clinton, and the group describes itself as non-partisan.

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a more conservative organization, recently issued a study saying the bar for judging students proficient in reading and math is set lower in Wisconsin than in almost any other state.

Efforts can be made to categorize the various studies and view them through a political lens. Excuses for MPS and Wisconsin's other schools can be made by criticizing the studies' methodology.

Blah, blah, blah.

The fact is the schools in Wisconsin aren't performing.

Nonetheless, more and more tax dollars are poured into the broken system.

In the case of MPS, it's like dumping money down a sewer.

At the beginning of this month, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent William Andrekopoulos proposed a a 16.4% increase in property taxes to fund MPS.

The public rose up and in a clear voice shouted, "NO." So, the School Board voted to decrease the increase and decided to go with 9% instead.

The audacity of that proposed tax hike is all the more stunning when one looks at how MPS spends its funds.

In an investigative report, Aaron Diamant and TMJ4 exposes the ugly underbelly of the MPS travel records.

"You can't keep doing this to us," warned one weary taxpayer last week. She was one of hundreds of ticked off Milwaukee taxpayers who showed up at MPS headquarters to protest a planned 16% property tax hike.

Board members told the capacity crowd they had no other choice, but to most, it just didn't seem fair.

Months before any of this, the I-Team had already started looking at how the district spends its money. First, we dug through the last four years of travel expenses for MPS employees, administrators, and board members.

"We do not condone junkets," said Board President Peter Blewett. "We don't condone travel as a reward or travel for the sake of travel."

Maybe not, but they sure do a lot of it. Blewett admits even he didn't realize how much.

"This is the first time I've seen the aggregate numbers," Blewett said after the I-Team showed him our research.

Over the last four school years, the folks on the MPS payroll, from the superintendent to the secretaries, took nearly 10,000 trips mostly to out of state conventions, conferences and workshops all over the country. We found some school which sent ten or more people to the same event. All totaled, MPS racked up nearly $6 million in expenses on the road in just four years.

"That's a lot of money," exclaimed District PTA President Roxanne Sparks. "That's a lot of books. That's a lot of teachers who we've lost because of budget cuts. The music, the gym, the languages, the art. We could be using that."

Grants covered some of the tab, but grant money is still mostly public money.

$6 million to send MPS staff on the road.

Gee, do you think it would be possible to trim some of that, just a little bit?

You'd think the buck would stop with the superintendent, and we figured what better place to speak to him about what the district spends on travel than Savannah, Georgia. Why Savannah? In October, Superintendent William Andrekopoulos, and four other MPS employees, made the trip for the two-day National Association of Charter School Authorizers Annual Conference. Andrekopoulos sits on the board.

On day one, after breakfast, browsing the vendors' booths, and a board meeting, Andrekopoulos headed for the airport. We questioned Andrekopoulos about those 10-thousand trips before he climbed into a cab.

I-Team: "Do you ever get reports from these schools as to what was done, why they send so many people, spending tens of thousands of dollars in some cases?"

Andrekopoulos: "That pretty much is a school based decision. Based on that, occasionally we'll get some reports on it, but most of it is really a school-based decision."

Expensive decisions without whole lot of oversight.

I-Team: "Should the principals be allowed to spend that kind of money on travel?"

Andrekopoulos: "I think that's an area that we have to constantly look at. We have district policies and procedures and we hold people accountable to those policies and procedures."

But clearly, we got him thinking about those policies on the way home. Andrekopoulos made sweeping changes--effective now.

Principals only get one out-of-state trip a year. Assistant principals get one every other year. Only 5 percent of teachers can attend out-of-state conferences each year. No more than one trip a year for support staff. Plus, the superintendent now gets copies of all travel requests.

It's a big deal for the district, and for parents whose taxes still went up this year.

"If you're going to spend my tax dollars, I want to see results," said taxpayer Valerie Jamison.

Jamison says MPS owes it to her and to every other taxpayer whether it spends one dollar or one million dollars on travel.

Obviously, traveling for professional development can be valuable, but after our investigation, the superintendent is looking at other options like online, video, and distance learning. Ultimately, these new policies will save taxpayers a lot of money.

If the new policies cut down on travel and save the taxpayers money, then that's a step in the right direction.

When I hear that Andrekopoulos is looking at other options to travel, such as online, video, and distance learning, I think he's doing exactly that -- looking a little.

Just looking. I don't have a lot of faith that the new policies will be implemented.

10,000 trips at a cost of $6 million in just four years.

That's insane.

As Andrekopoulos down to the secretaries were spending millions going to out-of-state conventions and workshops, taxpayers were being told that critical student programs had to be cut for lack of funds.

What a crock!

How typical of MPS -- wasteful, ineffective, corrupt.

Heather Amber Danowill Packs her 4-Year-Old's Backpack

William Andrekopoulos' dreams could come true and property taxes could be jacked up by 16.4% or 50% or 100% and it wouldn't make any difference in terms of the performance of students enrolled in Milwaukee Public Schools.

This is what I'm talking about when I say that money isn't going to solve the problems with MPS.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The 22-year-old Milwaukee woman who admitted putting pot in her 4-year-old son's school backpack was charged today with a felony count of marijuana possession with intent to distribute.

Heather Amber Danowill was arrested Wednesday after a teacher's aide at Burbank Elementary School found the marijuana while looking for supplies in the kindergartner's backpack. Police found additional marijuana in a search of her home in the 300 block of S. 69th St.

Danowill's son does not have a bright future.

He's being raised by a drug dealing mother.

She's so irresponsible that she actually put pot in her 4-year-old's backpack.

What sort of mother sends her child off to school with pot?

A BAD ONE.

Am I being too judgmental?

No.

This isn't a judgment call.

I'm sure all experts on parenting would agree with me that mothers should not put pot in their children's backpacks.

Educating children is not just the business of the schools.

The role parents play in their children's education is enormous. It can't be underestimated.

Without engaged and responsible parents doing their jobs at home, all the money in the world poured into MPS won't produce results.

As long as there are parents like Danowill, no tax increase, whatever the size, is going to help.

It's the parents, stupid.

School Board Decreases the Increase

Thanks to vocal Milwaukee taxpayers, the School Board approved a 9% property tax increase instead of the 16.4% proposed by School Superintendent William Andrekopoulos.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

On a 5 to 3 vote, the Milwaukee School Board agreed at 2:05 a.m. Friday to increase the amount of money to be collected in property taxes for schools 9%.

That was down from the 16.4% increase proposed by School Superintendent William Andrekopoulos. Including the impact of increased property tax credits from the state, property owners actually will be asked to pay 6.27% more in property taxes for schools, MPS officials said. The school bill makes up roughly a third of the total property tax bill.

...Following the public hearing, board members said they were being caught between the needs of children and homeowners, including elderly people, and blamed a sharp decline in state aid to MPS and flaws in state funding of schools as the main cuprits. But none voiced support for the 16.4% increase.

The approved plan calls for spending $17.1 million less than Andrekopoulos proposed, but that amount will come from not making some pension and debt service payments that were in the budget for this year. MPS financial chief Michelle Nate said the change should not cause long-term problems.

Voting in favor of the 9% figure were board members Michael Bonds, Charlene Hardin, Tim Petersons, Jeff Spence and Bruce Thompson. Voting against were Peter Blewett, Terry Falk and Jennifer Morales. Board member Danny Goldberg was out of town, but issued a statement criticizing state funding of MPs and saying he would not have voted for an increase greater than the annual increase in the cost of living.

What great news for Milwaukee taxpayers!

Your property taxes are GOING UP.

The People Speak...for Hours

If Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent William Andrekopoulos thought that it would be easy to gain approval to burden Milwaukee taxpayers with a 16.4% increase in property taxes to fund the schools, he was wrong.

Judging from the turnout for Tuesday night's hearing on the proposal, you'd think that Milwaukee residents were on board with the tax hike.

What a difference 48 hours makes!

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Hundreds of people flooded the central office building of the Milwaukee Public Schools on Thursday night, with the vast majority there to show their intense opposition to a proposal to raise the tax levy for MPS this year by 16.4%.

The turnout was an extreme contrast to a hearing Tuesday night when one person testified against the proposal and several others testified in favor.

At the time the meeting began, Thursday's crowd filled the School Board auditorium, several hallways, a cafeteria and a meeting room elsewhere in the building where the proceedings could be heard. The crowd dwindled as the evening proceeded.

The huge showing set the scene for action by board members, which was expected by dawn today. It appeared unlikely that there was enough support on the board to approve the 16.4% increase, which MPS officials say was caused by a decline in state aid to MPS.

Dozens of people took two-minute turns telling the board that they could not afford a property tax increase of the size proposed by Superintendent William Andrekopoulos. Many said rising taxes were threatening their ability to keep their homes.

"Are any of you on medication?" one older man asked board members.

"If I end up paying this, I will lose my house," said Carmella Thomas, a west side resident.

"These property taxes you are putting on these citizens are forcing out the middle class," Ahmie-Woma Farkas said. Clearly near tears, the west side mother added, "I've been here 40 years, watching my city die, and it kills me."

The people are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore.

Just a "handful" of people spoke in support of the increase.

...Earlier Thursday, six members of the Milwaukee Common Council held a news conference in the City Hall rotunda to express their opposition to the tax levy proposal, and Mayor Tom Barrett sent a letter to board members urging them to oppose such a large increase, chiding them for not fighting harder for changes in the way the private school voucher program is funded. Barrett said ideas not included in the new state budget would have helped the property tax picture.

Aldermen Michael Murphy, James Bohl Jr., Joe Dudzik, Robert Donovan, James Witkowiak and Tony Zielinski said at the news conference that they had received no phone calls in support of the proposal and that they had numerous calls in opposition.

Bohl said the aldermen understood that much of the problem was caused by a sharp decline in state aid to MPS this year and that there were funding flaws in the ways schools were supported by the state. But, he said, "You can't just turn around every time you get socked and sock the taxpayer."

Barrett, in his letter, told board members, "Our children deserve a first-rate education. Our taxpayers are entitled to an equitable and justifiable tax bill. There is no question that reaching that balance is difficult. Raising the levy 16.4% does not achieve that balance."

While Barrett has a point about school choice funding, it would also be a good idea for him to call for board members to cut the fat in order to avoid such an enormous increase.

The aldermen deserve credit for listening to their constituents and responding to their concerns.

It looks like the School Board is in for a long, long night.

The School Board's debate on Milwaukee Public Schools' proposed tax levy increase began about midnight after more than 4 1/2 hours of public testimony.

A decision by the School Board was not expected until the early hours of Friday morning. It appeared unlikely that there was enough support on the board to approve the proposed 16.4% tax levy increase, which MPS officials say was caused by a decline in state aid to MPS.

Hundreds of people flooded the central office building of the Milwaukee Public Schools on Thursday night, with the vast majority there to show their intense opposition to the proposed tax levy increase. The public testimony ended at about 11:40 p.m. Thursday.

It's important for Milwaukee residents to pay attention to how their School Board members vote on this measure.

As Ald. Bohl said, "You can't just turn around every time you get socked and sock the taxpayer."

It's time for the tax hikers to be held accountable.

Good News for MPS

The Milwaukee Public Schools are improving!

Only 53 are considered "failing to make adequate yearly progress" compared to 56 the year before.

A meager 32 schools were identified as "being in need of improvement - failing to make adequate yearly progress for at least two years in a row." That's down by two!

WOO HOO!!!

Pop those champagne corks!

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The list of Wisconsin schools that fell short of benchmarks tied to the federal No Child Left Behind law grew from 87 last year to 95 this year, but the number of Milwaukee Public Schools in two key categories shrank, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the state Department of Public Instruction.

...Thirty-two MPS schools were identified as being in need of improvement - failing to make adequate yearly progress for at least two years in a row - and face sanctions. This is down two from 2005-'06. The number of MPS schools identified as failing to make adequate yearly progress this year was 53, down from 56 in 2005-'06.

Way to go, MPS! Progress! Forward!

...Nearly two dozen Milwaukee elementary schools, including several non-district charter schools, were cited for failing to make adequate yearly progress, a precursor to being identified as in need of improvement if they fail to make adequate progress again next year.

The lack of proficiency at the elementary school level is perhaps the most disturbing because it points to problems that likely started in the earliest grades, MPS administrators said.

"I think it tells us we need to examine our primary instruction and make sure that our programs in K-4, K-5, first and second grades are doing better," said Deb Lindsey, MPS director of research and assessment.

"We need to examine programs that are offered to ensure that they are preparing kids to do well in grade three."

There are problems at the middle and high school levels as well.

Of the 32 MPS schools identified as being in need of improvement, 28 were middle and high schools.

To be fair, MPS middle and high schools are doing remarkably well considering all those interruptions by police during the school day and all that meddling by irate parents.

...She said much of the lack of proficiency among MPS students stemmed from issues of poverty - a contention echoed by Jack Jennings, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Educational Policy.

In other words, don't blame MPS. Blame a lack of jobs. Blame unreasonably high expectations. Blame Bush and that pesky No Child Left Behind.

...He said reform and intervention could come in the form of more literacy teachers to longer school days to better curricula to more experienced teachers in schools whose students hail from impoverished backgrounds.

"The most important things are the quality of the teacher, whether the curriculum is a demanding curriculum and whether students have enough time to do well," Jennings said. The release of schools that failed to make adequate yearly progress drew criticism from Wisconsin Education Association Council President Stan Johnson.

"This AYP list does not address the societal gaps that make learning more difficult for disadvantaged students, especially our youngest learners," Johnson said.

Lindsey, the MPS research director, said interventions, such as literacy coaches and increased instructional time, can reverse negative trends.

"While poverty certainly plays a role, I believe in the power of teachers and educational interventions," Lindsey said. "We have a lot of work to do in providing teachers with a good toolkit of interventions."

TRANSLATION: "Providing teachers with a good toolkit of interventions" = Higher taxes

QUESTION: Will flexible handcuffs be included in the toolkit?

QUESTION: Is School Choice considered an intervention?

MPS Violence: Blame School Choice

I agree with the basic premise of Eugene Kane's column about violence in the Milwaukee Public Schools.

Bad parents raise bad kids.

I don't agree with this:

There is a Pandora's box of social issues that contributes to the dysfunction in which some MPS students are being raised, including a lack of jobs in the central city, the crack cocaine explosion of the 1990s and even the school choice voucher program.

(Voucher schools won't accept kids with the kind of disciplinary problems that are ruining public schools, making MPS the last resort for many students.)

It's illogical to say that kids in the school choice program are responsible for other kids acting out at public schools.

The program doesn't create any dysfunction. To the contrary, it provides an opportunity for kids to escape the dysfunction of MPS.

Ending the school choice program wouldn't end the violence.

Kane can't lump school choice in with poverty and drug abuse as a contributing factor in creating problem kids.

It's a shame that he threw such a ridiculous comment in his otherwise reasonable column.

Milwaukee Public School Chaos

Another day, another violent outburst, another lockdown.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

John Burroughs Middle School, 6700 N. 80th St., was locked down shortly after the school opened at 8:45 a.m. because of a number of fights that broke out among students, according to Milwaukee Public Schools spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin.

St. Aubin said there were no injuries reported and no weapons were involved but all students were confined to their classrooms as a precautionary measure. Several groups of students were involved in fights in different locations but it is unclear if they were related.

The school principal was at a meeting at another site at the time of the incident and other administrators decided to initiate the lockdown to cool things down, St. Aubin said.

Two security aides were in the building as normal and additional help was being sent in, St. Aubin said.

There is a second school within the middle school and St. Aubin said she did not know if the groups involved were from the main school or the second school.

The school day at Burroughs begins with several fights.

Administrators call for a lockdown to "cool things down."

It sounds like they feared a riot was brewing, like a prison riot.

Burroughs seems like it should qualify as a dangerous school, but it doesn't.

According to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin has NO dangerous schools.

At Todd County High School in South Dakota last school year, 16 calls to police helped earn the school an unsavory distinction in the eyes of the state and federal government: The rural school was slapped with the label "persistently dangerous."

Under the 6-year-old No Child Left Behind Act, each state must define a "persistently dangerous" school and allow parents to transfer their children out of them.

But at Milwaukee's Fritsche Middle School, 187 calls to police over a recent six-month period did not make the school persistently dangerous under Wisconsin's definition.

Neither did 263 calls at Bay View High School, or 299 at Custer.

The fact that Todd County's high school is "dangerous" while many of Milwaukee's high schools do not come close to earning the designation highlights dramatic inconsistencies in the way the federal safety provision is applied, a Journal Sentinel analysis shows.

The analysis also found that the dangerous schools provision does little to foster accountability on school safety issues - and could actually discourage accountability in some schools and states.

Milwaukee does not have a single dangerous school. Neither does Chicago. Nor Boston. Nor Los Angeles.

All told, 40 schools throughout the country were labeled dangerous at the start of this school year - nine of them in Philadelphia.

None is in Wisconsin.

I knew it! It's Bush's fault.

His No Child Left Behind Act is causing the problems.

Federal law now requires all states to have a dangerous-school definition. Many of the states, however, have defined "persistently dangerous" in such a way that schools are unlikely to earn the label unless they have a large number of violent incidents over an extended period, and are thorough in their reporting.

In Wisconsin, to earn the label of persistently dangerous, a large school needs to suspend more than 5% of its students for weapons incidents or expel more than 1% of the students for assault, weapons or dangerous behavior for three straight years.

A school of 1,000 students, for instance, would have to suspend 50 students every year for three straight years for weapons incidents.

Put another way, a large high school could find a gun every day for a week, and it would likely not qualify as persistently dangerous under Wisconsin's definition.

What bugs me is that libs blame the Feds for problems, yet they want more and more federal regulation and they want your money.

If there's a problem with no Wisconsin school being designated dangerous, blame Governor Jim Doyle and the Wisconsin legislature.

Where has the eductaion Gov been anyway?

Has he had anything to say about the meltdown of MPS?

Bottom line: It doesn't matter that there officially are NO dangerous schools in Wisconsin.

What matters is what students and faculty are experiencing on a day to day basis.

Label it however you want -- dangerous, not dangerous.

Loaded guns, brawls, assaults on teachers -- That's not a positive learning environment.

That's not a fair statement.

It's an excellent environment IF the goal is to teach students to be thugs and send them out to apply all that knowledge in the wider community.
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Here's an update.

A student at the John Burroughs Middle School hit a teacher over the head with the receiver of a wall mounted telephone this morning, the most serious of what appears to be three separate incidents that prompted a lockdown of the building.

Roseann St. Aubin, a Milwaukee Public Schools spokeswoman, said the teacher was treated by paramedics at the school but did not require hospitalization.

The student was attempting to make a call from the telephone shortly after classes at the school located at 6700 N. 80th St. began at 8:45 a.m.

The teacher, St. Aubin said, told the student to return to his seat but the student hit the teacher with the receiver.

I can't imagine ever hitting a teacher, or anyone, with a phone.

If one of my children did that to a teacher, I would be horrified. It would be a VERY big deal in our household.

I hope this kid's parents make it a big deal.

What are the odds of that?

SHOCKER: MPS Violence Intensifying!

Put this in the "DUH" file.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's online edition has this headline:



Well, there's breaking news.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is always a step ahead and on top of things in the community. (Sarcasm alert)

The publication is doing a four part series about increasing violence in the Milwaukee Public Schools.

The first in the series details an extremely troubling list of recent violent incidents in the city's schools and points out their costs and the strain on the MPS system.

None of that's news. Some thug students and their thug parents, too many, are soiling the Milwaukee Public Schools. We know that.

Part one of the series does mention something interesting.

Nationwide, school violence peaked in the 1990s and then declined.

In Wisconsin, however, violence is on the rise again. Between 2003 and 2005 there were increases in school fights and weapons possessions on school grounds, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey filled out by students statewide.

This mirrors the increase in violent crime in Milwaukee.

The trend in many cities around the country has been a decrease in crime. Not Milwaukee. Violent crime has skyrocketed.

Read more here and here.

I suppose it should come as no surprise that the city's schools would reflect the city's general deterioration in terms of violence.

...The problems are growing in some rural and suburban schools, too.

In Whitefish Bay, Shorewood and Wauwatosa, the number of weapons and drug-related incidents resulting in suspension or expulsion at least tripled between 1999 and 2005 - a greater percentage increase than in the city.

In West Allis, a mother was charged with punching a 14-year-old boy in the face in front of his school and threatening to kill him. The state's most recent school gun killings were of a principal in rural Cazenovia last year, and an assistant principal at Wauwatosa West in 1993.

But on a daily basis, the situation is more dire in Milwaukee Public Schools.

In recent weeks, the city has been rocked by a series of high-profile cases. A seventh-grader was arrested with an unloaded gun and ammunition. A staff member at Walker International Middle School was knocked unconscious while trying to break up a fight. On the same day, a series of fights at Hamilton High School led to a lockdown.

The always politically correct, always lib Journal Sentinel highlights the problems in suburban schools. Violence has increased there, too.

Fair enough, but it's not at a crisis stage at those schools.

The reality is the level of violent crime in Milwaukee and the level of violence in its schools cannot be tolerated any longer.

Nonetheless, The Journal Sentinel Editorial Board routinely endorses candidates that DO NOTHING, other than hand-wringing and meaningless expressions of outrage, to address the crisis.

Yes, I'm talking about Mayor Tom Barrett and members of the new anti-flexicuffs school board. Throw in haters like Alderman Michael McGee, Jr.

When are the city's residents going to hold their leaders accountable for failing so miserably?

There are only a few lone voices calling for action and personal responsibility. Sheriff David Clarke and Alderman Bob Donovan come to mind.

When will the others, the "pass the buck" bunch, join them in offering real solutions and taking meaningful action?

Meanwhile, the city continues its death spiral.

It's very sad that so many have decided to surrender to the thugs.