Tension at first MPS facilities town hall as community fears school closures

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- MPS hosted a contentious first community meeting Monday night, Sept. 30, to discuss the plan that could eventually close several school buildings.

Over the course of several town hall meetings, community members can weigh in on their school and what qualities are important to them.

But for all the data shared at Monday's meeting, most parents and families had just one question on their minds: was their school among those that will be permanently closed?

There are no answers to those questions yet. The district does not yet have a list of schools that will close. But that uncertainty did not sit well with many.

Roughly 150 people got to weigh in Monday evening on a plan that will eventually shape the future of MPS.

They offered suggestions and asked questions.

But one question loomed largest: which schools could close?

That list is still being created, and input from the town halls will be taken into consideration.

Nathan Morris, a project manager from research firm Perkins Eastman, told reporters before the meeting, "We don't want to make decisions just based on numbers alone."

Morris added, "That's what we're here to do tonight, is try to get the input, you know, from the people who know the system and the school's best."

Pages of data have been collected and presented, but many felt it was hard to advocate for or against outcomes when they don't know where their schools stand.

Community member Peter Hulbert told us, "They built a matrix. So obviously there's schools that fall into these, so I think to have the discussion we need to have, we need to know exactly where schools fall."

And there are still many concerns with the district itself.

Yvonne Bonds said, "I don't trust them."

Another woman added, "We have no confidence in any of the leaders."

Neither Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan nor any other administrator spoke to the community during the town hall.

But Galvan did talk to reporters beforehand about the possibility of school closures, saying, "Anytime we talk about change, there's always that potential, right? A lot of people grew up in a school and they want that school to live on forever."

There are three more in-person town hall meetings scheduled for the rest of the week, then two more virtual meetings.