Mayor is quiet as MPS leaders decry state plan to force 25 police into Milwaukee schools

A united front of Milwaukee school board members and community organizations on Friday decried a plan from state lawmakers to force MPS to have at least 25 Milwaukee police officers in its schools, while the mayor and superintendent have been quiet on the issue.

Assembly Republicans tucked the plan into a sweeping bill released Tuesday that would increase funding for local governments.

Evers said he would veto the current version of the bill, but lawmakers could rework the bill to garner his support before sending it to his desk. Evers has not signaled whether the portion related to school police would be a deal-breaker for him.

Marva Herndon, newly selected as MPS school board president, said Friday the bill would "destroy Milwaukee's right to self-govern." She was joined by other school board members and community organizations at a press conference calling for the school police provision to be removed.

"It clearly has racist overtones, as Milwaukee has the largest minority population in the state," Herndon said. "As you can see today, by the big turnout here today, we will not stand for that."

MPS cut its last contracts with Milwaukee police in June 2020, when racial justice protests landed outside MPS offices. School board members have stood by that decision.

Superintendent Keith Posley was scheduled to speak Friday but had to leave for personal reasons before taking the podium, Herndon said. A spokesperson for the district has not answered questions from the Journal Sentinel about Posley's views on the bill.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson has withheld his views on the school police requirement. His spokesman previously told the Badger Institute in February that MPS and MPD were having conversations about returning police to schools, and that it was "likely" to happen. Spokespeople for MPS and MPD have not answered questions from the Journal Sentinel about those conversations.

When questioned at a public hearing on the bill Thursday about any specific parts he disagreed with, Johnson didn't list the portion regarding police in schools, but said generally that there are "local matters that should be decided by local representation."

The bill includes a range of other measures, including allowing the city of Milwaukee to levy a sales tax if approved by referendum, and diminishing civilian oversight of police. Johnson did take issue specifically with those items, saying the city shouldn't need to win a referendum in order to levy a sales tax.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, speaking to media Friday, declined to answer a question about whether Johnson asked for the bill to include the school police requirement. A spokesman for Johnson said the mayor did not ask for the provision and his requests "focused exclusively on fiscal matters."

Evers said he would veto current version

Evers said Thursday that he would veto the current version of the bill in its entirety because it does not provide enough resources to local governments.

Evers didn't comment specifically on the portion requiring police at MPS and hasn't answered questions from the Journal Sentinel about whether he would support such a requirement. He did call for removing "restrictions" that "the legislation was putting on those local folks."

"Here in one way we want to bring them more money and in another way we want to take more control away from them — it doesn't make sense," Evers said in a video statement. "Send me a clean bill that talks about the money we're going to give to our municipalities."

Evers would not be allowed to use his partial-veto power on the bill if it lands on his desk, according to Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Director Richard Champagne. On bills that spend public funds, Evers is allowed to use a partial veto, crossing out only certain parts of it. But Champagne said this bill does not qualify as an appropriations bill, and Evers would only be allowed to veto it in full.

MPS could have to help pay for officers

Under the bill, Milwaukee Public Schools would be required to have at least 25 "school resource officers" by Jan. 1, 2024. The officers would need to be present at schools during the school day and additionally available for other events at schools outside of normal hours "as needed." School resource officers are police officers assigned to work full time at schools.

MPS is the only school district that would face this requirement under the bill.

The bill also requires MPS and other high schools to collect data about incidents of disorderly conduct and certain crimes on school property and school transportation. Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, MPS would be required to consider those statistics in determining where to place the 25 police officers.

Also under the bill, MPS could be required to help pay for the officers, depending on what is agreed upon between MPS and city officials. When MPS and MPD had an agreement for school resource officers in 2018, each agreed to pay for half the costs of up to 12 officers, with a maximum payment of about $478,000 from MPS.

School board members, teachers union and others oppose bill

The press conference opposing the bill Friday included representatives from the school board, teachers' union, and community organizations including the Milwaukee NAACP, Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, Youth Empowered in the Struggle, Community Task Force MKE, the Milwaukee Turners and the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

"History was made when the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Directors voted unanimously to terminate contracts between the district and the Milwaukee Police Department," said Cendi Tena, co-executive director of LIT. "Since then, the Wisconsin GOP has been desperately searching for ways to undo this victory."

LIT, a group that advocates for students of color, had organized public rallies for the district to cut contracts with police. The organization has asked supporters to email to lawmakers, calling for opposition to any plan that would put police back in Milwaukee schools.

Vos, who spoke at the Milwaukee Press Club on Friday at about the same time as the MPS press conference, said the police requirement would "make sure that young people realize that they're not allowed to create mayhem."

Asked whether the focus should be on recruiting teachers, as MPS has over 300 teaching vacancies, Vos said he expected adding police officers to schools would “make recruiting easier.”

The executive board of the local teachers union, the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, voted unanimously Wednesday to oppose the bill, MTEA president Amy Mizialko said.

"Our students need more nurses in our schools, they need more counselors, they need more mental health support," she said. "They need class sizes that are small enough so their teachers can spend the one-on-one time that really makes a difference in their social-emotional growth and also their academic growth."

Studies in recent years have found that school officers do not reduce serious safety threats, that school police programs were associated with lower graduation and college enrollment rates, and that Black students who have police encounters in childhood are more likely to be arrested as adults.

More: School policing falls hardest on Black students and those with disabilities, study shows

Many Milwaukee School Board members have also voiced opposition to bringing Milwaukee police back into schools. At a forum for school board candidates in February organized by LIT, all but one candidate now on the board, Darryl Jackson, said they agreed with the 2020 decision to end contracts with MPD.

Jilly Gokalgandhi, newly selected as vice president of the school board, said lawmakers instead should fund restorative justice practices, mental health and other school operations. She also noted MPS already employs over 230 safety personnel.

"When you look at the state, we are the district that spends the most on school safety, and yet we're the only school distirct that's getting mandates," she said. "We should let school districts determine the best way to support their students."

Journal Sentinel reporters Alison Dirr and Elliot Hughes contributed to this report.

Contact Rory Linnane at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @RoryLinnane. 

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS leaders oppose shared revenue bill's 25 SRO police requirement