Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Public Schools' $252 referendum: What's the district's plan for that money?
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — In less than six weeks, voters will decide whether Milwaukee Public Schools gets another $252 million through a property tax increase. In a one-on-one interview, CBS 58 asked MPS Superintendent Keith Posley how the district will use that money, and how those dollars will improve student performance in a district that currently lags behind many of its big-city peers.
Posley and other MPS officials have said the biggest culprit of the district’s money problems is state aid that hasn’t kept up with inflation. Milwaukee is one of 90 school districts across Wisconsin that are going to referendum this spring.
Milwaukee voters overwhelmingly passed a 2020 referendum that provided $87 million for MPS. Posley said this time around, the funding would allow the district to keep many of the additions the 2020 referendum funded, including expanded music classes at 90 schools, nearly 50 new library staff positions, and upgrades in early childhood classrooms at 62 schools.
“Maintaining what we have,” Posley said. “We’re trying to maintain.”
When asked if passing the referendum on April 2 would ensure the district doesn’t come back in another four years seeking to raise property taxes, Posley pointed to the state Legislature.
“That is a decision the state will have to make around how schools are funded in the state of Wisconsin,” Posley said.
If this referendum passes, property taxes would increase by $324 for a home valued at $150,000. For a home valued at $250,000, it would mean a $540 tax hike.
While state funding accounts for the lion’s share of MPS’ funding, it gets 15% of its funding from the federal government. Most big-city districts are less reliant on federal money, but Milwaukee gets more from Washington than most because of high poverty levels.
30% of MPS students come from families in poverty. Among the 100 biggest districts in the U.S., only five have a higher poverty rate.
District officials say the funding numbers aren’t entirely accurate since about 30% of the district’s federal Title I aid follows voucher students to private schools. That amounts to about 12% of the federal aid MPS receives leaving the district.
Because of the high poverty levels, Posley said that creates a need for more specialized programs in the classroom.
“Tutoring services, one-on-one type of support with young people. How do you manage and build those safety nets around young people for learning?” Posley said. “Those kinds of things takes dollars.”
At Escuela Vieau in the Walker’s Point neighborhood, the 2020 dollars allowed for kindergarten classrooms to be refurbished. That meant new desks and chairs, as well as replacing carpet with refinished hardwood floors. It also allowed the district to hire one more kindergarten teacher.
“It helps with achievement because having a lower student-to-teacher ratio allows teachers to spend more time with individual students,” Marko Radmanovic, the school’s principal, said.
Reversing below average results
Among big-city districts, Milwaukee test results are well below average. Using the National Assessment of Educational Progress, MPS 4th graders’ reading and math scores were at least 20 points worse than the average large district’s results.
For context, 10 points is about the equivalent of one year’s worth of learning. The test result trends show MPS losing ground compared to other large districts. Reading scores were more than 20 points worse than the big-city average in 2022 and 2019. Before that, the gap was 18 points in 2017 and 14 points in 2013.
Poverty correlates strongly with the results, but not entirely. Milwaukee’s results are comparable to Detroit and Baltimore, but Houston and Atlanta had scores much closer to the average large district score despite also having high poverty rates.
Posley maintained MPS was making progress, even if the NAEP results didn’t show it.
“We have made things happen for children on a daily basis, and we are seeing success,” he said. “And I will be the first to tell you that one test does not mean all.”
“Look at classroom assessments, what’s happening throughout the day.”
As MPS asks taxpayers for $252 million in April, I asked Supt. Keith Posley about national testing data (NAEP) that show Milwaukee 4th graders have been scoring worse than the average big city district for more than a decade.
“We have made things happen for children.” pic.twitter.com/W2dZQtky1S
— A.J. Bayatpour (@AJBayatpour) February 23, 2024
Colleston Morgan said he still had questions. Morgan, a Milwaukee native who was a district administrator in New Orleans, now directs the City Forward Collective, which positions itself as an advocate for all Milwaukee students, in both public and private schools.
“We haven’t seen those numbers move at all, and that’s because we haven’t had a plan,” Morgan said.
In July, MPS did launch a new districtwide strategic plan for 2023 through 2028. Some of its milestones are cut and dry, such as aiming to have all students performing at grade level by the end of their school year, starting in 2026-27. For others, it’s not clear how the district plans to measure success; one goal is having students feel “emotionally and physically safe in school.”
“We need to do better by all of our students here in Milwaukee. We think MPS is an important part of that equation,” Morgan said. “But it’s not clear how they’re gonna use these additional resources to improve that academic picture.”
MILWAUKEE – Landmark Credit Union Live, Milwaukee’s newest concert venue, opened its doors on Friday. And with the Bucks playing next door at the same time, the whole area was hopping.
What they’re saying:
Fans flocked to Fiserv Forum to watch the team play the New York Knicks, and music lovers stood in line to see Rainbow Kitten Surprise on the opening night of Landmark Credit Union Live.
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“Very busy, very crowded the bars and restaurants,” said Ashley Evans. “That’d be great to add to the city again, to continue to bring more tourists out.”
“This is going to be amazing. I’ve been wanting to see them for a very long time, so I’m very excited,” said Rachel Lococo.
Fans line up for the official opening of Landmark Credit Union Live
Landmark Credit Union Live can host up to 4,500 people. Friday night’s show was sold out, drawing fans from places like Chicago, Minnesota, Iowa and elsewhere.
“Some people have driven from Indiana, so there’s a lot of people coming out tonight,” said Kade McCane, who came from Madison. “Honestly, really exciting to be among the first people who get to be there, and for RKS to be among the first people who will ever perform here, I hope this venue gets huge and big and becomes very popular.”
The excitement was felt all around Milwaukee. Even the competition rolled out the welcome mat.
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“Our goal to grow as a city means that a lot of things have to happen. This is the very, tiny, small work that has to happen,” said Gary Witt, president and CEO of The Pabst Theater Group, which runs six nearby venues.
“The introduction of any new business in the city, especially one that pays attention to the fact that we have spent 24 years growing the live culture economy in the city of Milwaukee, says to me that we’ve done our job.”
Witt said live entertainment is an industry Milwaukee’s economy has been dependent on coming from visitors like those who turned out Friday.
The Source: FOX6 News interviewed the people in this story and referenced prior coverage related to the opening of Landmark Credit Union Live.
Drone view shows Milwaukee’s County Courthouse
Built in 1931, Milwaukee’s historic County Courthouse is in dire need of repair and upgrades. Here’s a recent drone view of the MacArthur Square building.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office will not move forward on a potential deal to use facial recognition technology, Sheriff Denita Ball announced Friday.
In a statement on Feb. 27, Ball said after “thoughtful evaluation” and “meaningful dialogue” with community stakeholders and leaders, she decided to stop pursuing a contract with Biometrica, a Las Vegas-based company whose technology allows authorities to compare photos to a large database of photos for matches.
“While we recognize the potential of this software as an investigative tool, we also recognize that trust between the MCSO and the people we serve is important,” she said.
“My discussions with local advocates highlighted valid concerns regarding how such data could be accessed or perceived in the current national climate. This decision is not a retreat from innovation but rather an understanding that timing matters, too,” Ball said.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Feb. 17 that the Sheriff’s Office was on the verge of signing off on the use of facial recognition technology after news broke at a community advisory board meeting held by the office.
The update on the office’s sign-off on an intent to enter into a contract with Biometrica blindsided local officials and advocates because it contradicted earlier claims that the office had not moved forward with a controversial contract.
At the time, supervisors on the county’s judiciary and legislation committee called for more information from the Sheriff’s Office about the nature of the then-potential contract.
Supervisor Justin Bielinski, who chairs the committee, said Ball’s decision to step away from the deal was good news, but said he was still feeling wary.
“I would like to see more I guess,” he said of the two paragraph statement from Ball. “At what point would she reconsider, right?”
County Executive David Crowley, who is running for governor as a Democrat, had also voiced concerns about a possible contract when news came to light earlier this month.
After learning of Ball’s decision to not move forward with Biometrica, Crowley thanked community members who voiced concerns about facial recognition technology, saying he will “continue doing everything in my authority to ensure our residents’ First Amendment rights, civil liberties, and personal data are protected.”
In recent months, Milwaukee politicians and residents rebuffed local law enforcement’s efforts to pursue the use of such technology at both the city and county levels, with many citing concerns over racial bias and unjust surveillance of residents.
The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted last summer to recommend the development of a policy framework for the use of facial recognition technology as worries about its use by local law enforcement grew in the community.
The policy emphasized that the use of such technology doesn’t “suppress First Amendment-related activities, violate privacy, or otherwise adversely impact individuals’ civil rights and liberties,” and called for a pause on acquiring new facial recognition technology until regulatory policies were in place to monitor any existing and new surveillance technology.
In early February, the Milwaukee Police Department paused its pursuit of facial recognition technology after almost a year of pushback from activists and some public officials at public meetings. The department also noted that community feedback was a part of its final decision as well as a volatile political climate amid the federal government’s immigration crackdown.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
A Milwaukee County judge on Thursday, Feb. 26, criticized the smell of marijuana inside the courthouse during a sentencing hearing, calling it inappropriate and illegal as visitors described the odor as common.
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