Milwaukee, WI
MPS Board Calls to Explore Referendum, Votes to Set New Calendar
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Board members for Milwaukee Public Schools voted Thursday night to have the district explore asking taxpayers for more money in an April referendum.
The board cited state aid that hasn’t kept up with inflation combined with caps state law puts on how much districts can generate from property taxes.
There aren’t yet any details about how much MPS would be seeking in a referendum, which would be a request for voters’ permission to raise that property tax limit.
“It’s a first step,” Board member Marcela Garcia said after the meeting. “It’s really an opportunity for us to do a little bit of digging as to what is the possibility of us doing that.”
Under the resolution, district administrators will outline what a referendum could look like. The board then expects to vote in January on whether it’ll put the question to voters on the April ballot.
While MPS has a current budget of $1.5 billion, the district contends it would have another $210 million if the state’s school aid formula kept up with inflation. It cited a memo Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) received last January from the Legislature’s nonpartisan Fiscal Bureau.
Board member Missy Zombor said seeking additional dollars was a far more preferable option than making cuts.
She noted other districts have had to explore closing schools to close budget gaps. That list includes Kenosha and Wauwatosa.
“Shuttering schools, overcrowding classrooms, eliminating specialty programs, cutting transportation and balancing a budget on the backs of teachers are not sound solutions to addressing a budget crisis,” Zombor said.
Rich Steenwyk, an MPS parent of three, and the only member of the public to speak on the matter Thursday, cautioned the timing might doom a referendum. He noted a new 2% city sales tax takes effect in January, along with Milwaukee County’s sales tax jumping from 0.5% to 0.9%.
“We’ll be asking the voters for their opinion on more of their money in Spring 2024, right after they come off the heels of dealing with tax increases in Milwaukee,” Steenwyk said.
Zombor, MPS Board President Marva Herndon and Superintendent Keith Posely will hold a press conference Friday morning to discuss the referendum push.
New Calendar Coming
The board also approved a measure shifting the district’s schools to a single calendar. Currently, some schools begin in mid-August while others start their year after Labor Day.
The new calendar will have all MPS schools start on September 3 next year; that’s the Tuesday after Labor Day. The district will dismiss all students for the summer on June 13.
MPS cited a survey of nearly 11,000 parents, district workers and city residents when settling on the new calendar.
41% of the respondents said they preferred a traditional calendar with school starting after Labor Day. 31% said they backed a hybrid option in which schools would start in late August while 28% opted for all schools to begin on the early start calendar.
Currently, MPS high schools, middle schools and some elementary schools use the early start calendar.
Supporters of putting all schools on the traditional calendar said that would minimize the number of days where school is held in extreme heat.
MPS has had to cancel classes in recent years because of heat. The district has faced criticism for not using more of the $770 million it’s gotten in federal pandemic aid to upgrade the HVAC systems in more buildings. 44% of the district’s schools don’t have air conditioning.
Milwaukee, WI
Silver Alert issued for critically missing 69-year-old Milwaukee man with dementia
The Wisconsin Department of Justice and Milwaukee police are searching for a vulnerable, critically missing 69-year-old man.
Ike King Jr. was last seen traveling on foot Sunday, Oct. 6, around 10:30 p.m. in the 3300 block of North 41st Street, a largely residential area just west of West Fond du Lac Avenue. King has dementia. He is Black and has brown eyes and a black, curly afro. He has a missing front tooth and is about 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 175 pounds with a medium build.
King was last seen wearing a white flannel, a blue shirt, blue pants resembling Dickies style pants and black Nike flip-flops.
Silver Alerts are issued for elderly persons who are missing and believed to have dementia or some other cognitive impairment. “Critical missing” is a label police apply to people who may be especially vulnerable due to a variety of factors.
Anyone with information regarding King’s whereabouts should call the Milwaukee Police Department’s Seventh District at 414-935-7272.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee shootings Sunday; 1 dead, 1 injured
MILWAUKEE – One person is dead and another is injured after different shootings in Milwaukee on Sunday, Oct. 6.
20th and Cornell
A 16-year-old was shot around 1 p.m. and went to the hospital for treatment. The teen victim succumbed to their injury.
The circumstances leading up to the shooting are under investigation. Police are looking for anyone involved.
Birch and Sheridan
A 25-year-old was shot around 5:30 p.m. The victim went to the hospital for treatment of non-fatal injuries.
Police are still investigating and looking for anyone involved.
MPD tips
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Milwaukee Police Department at 414-935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS or use the P3 Tips app.
Milwaukee, WI
Weather Webcast with Chief Meteorologist Tom Wachs
Clear skies tonight with patchy frost away from the lake overnight. Temperatures dropping into the 30s inland, mid-40s near the lake overnight. Becoming partly sunny on Monday, breezy with highs in the mid-60s.
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