(From the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, December 16, 2009)
By ERIN RICHARDS
Representatives from several Milwaukee-area groups gathered in Madison today to oppose legislation that would allow the city’s mayor to choose the superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, said Bob Peterson of the Coalition to Stop the MPS Takeover.
Meanwhile, another group of organizations and individuals called Education Reform Now Advocacy headed to Madison today to try to advance SB 405, also known as the Milwaukee TEACH Act, said Katy Venskus, the state director of Democrats for Education Reform Wisconsin.
Though legislators said Tuesday that they would not take a vote on two education reform bills Gov. Jim Doyle had wanted lawmakers to pass Wednesday – the bill that would give the mayor the power to control MPS and another that would give the state superintendent extra power to intervene in low-performing schools – Peterson said delegations from the coalition still wanted to lobby legislators.
“We wanted people to know that, even though (the mayoral takeover bill) wasn’t going to be voted on, that there’s a whole range of opposition to the proposal,” Peterson said.
Another group called People United for Milwaukee Public Schools said in a news release that its members would speak in Madison today about parental involvement, funding flaws, achievement gaps, insurance cuts, contracts, board management and the selection of the superintendent.
The Coalition to Stop the MPS Takeover is made up of 28 community, parent, educator and union groups opposed to giving the mayor more power over MPS and reducing the power of the School Board.
The group called PUMPS is made up of Esperanza Unida Inc., Reality Plus One, Prevention Rehabilitation Awareness Development, the Milwaukee Professionals Organization and branches of the Green Party in Dane County and Milwaukee, according to a news release.