MPS board approves funding plan to bring officers into schools

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Board of School Directors voted unanimously Thursday to approve a nearly $800,000 plan to fund its share of the cost to bring police officers back into the city's public schools.

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has been ordered under state law to bring at least 25 officers back into the district. MPS was supposed to have the officers in place by Jan. 1, 2024, but has instead squabbled with the city for months over who should pay for the officers' salaries and training.

On Monday, a visibly irritated Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Borowski slammed both sides for not having an agreement in place. He ordered MPS and the city to each pay half the costs and set a deadline of Feb. 27 for officers to be in place. Borowski threatened sanctions and to hold both parties in contempt of court if they missed the deadline.

MPS estimates it would cost about $1.6 million to have 25 officers in the district for 176 school days. Working off that figure, the board approved a little more than $795,000 in funding for the effort. 

Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan told reporters after a special board meeting the district will send its proposal to the city attorney's office.

"We're gonna continue to move forward with the city to make sure that when those officers are available, we have a plan for them to serve us and make our schools safer," Galvan said.

Galvan confirmed the board had approved a plan that pledged about $800,000 to cover the officers' costs. He said the district had a plan for how it would place the officers across the district but did not specify where they would be. 

The holdup stemmed from a 2023 state law, Act 12, which increased state funding for local governments. In a large compromise, the Republican-controlled Legislature allowed Milwaukee to enact a city sales tax. 

In exchange for the tax, the state put several conditions on Milwaukee, and one of them was the requirement to bring officers back into MPS. The district had maintained the city should pay for most of the officers' cost since the city had negotiated the deal and got its sales tax.

While MPS and the city have entirely different revenue streams, Borowski noted Monday each has a budget of more than $1 billion. He said there was no good reason for the two parties to have not yet reached an agreement.

During Thursday's meeting, the board also discussed contract terms for Brenda Cassellius, their pick to serve as MPS' next superintendent. The board expects to approve final terms of the contract and formally offer it to Cassellius later this month.