With a judge's Feb. 17 deadline approaching, MPS has an offer on the table for school police
During a Tuesday night press conference about MPS' newly named superintendent, MPS board member Missy Zombor responded to a reporter's question with details about ongoing negotiations related to school resource officers.
Zombor said MPS has an offer out to the city: for the district to pay for 33% of the cost of the school resource officer program, plus provide training for 25 officers and five alternates.
"(Part of) the shared revenue sales tax deal, the city was the recipient of over $200 million. MPS was not a recipient of that money," Zombor told reporters Tuesday. She said the district had offered to conduct negotiations with the help of a mediator.
Via email, the spokesperson for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Jeff Fleming, said MPS had agreed to maintain confidentiality about the status and terms of the ongoing negotiations about school resource officers.
"It is highly disappointing MPS has broken that promise," Fleming said, declining to provide further details about the negotiations. "The city continues to act in good faith, and it is our hope we can resolve any differences through the mutually agreed upon process."
Fleming also said the city had first offered mediation, not the district.
Since Jan. 1, 2024, MPS has been required by a state law known as Act 12 to ensure 25 police officers are "present" in the district during school hours. MPS' lack of compliance with that law prompted a lawsuit by a district parent and the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.
More: Despite MPS missing deadline, debate heats up on police in Milwaukee schools
On Jan. 23, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Borowski ordered that MPS have police in place by Feb. 17. That created a deadline of just over three weeks for MPS and the city to finalize their negotiations.
On Wednesday, Zombor acknowledged that discussions took place about not pursuing media with updates about the negotiations. However, she said that when asked by a reporter during a news conference, she felt it was her responsibility "to answer honestly and transparently."
"We remain committed to continuing the conversation to come to a resolution," she said.
More: In Milwaukee, police respond to thousands of calls to MPS: 'Why do we call the police?'
Act 12 provided no funding to implement the school resource officer program, which is estimated to cost at least $2 million annually. Instead, it required the MPS board and the city to agree to an "apportionment" of the costs.
Deciding who pays for that mandate has been an issue ever since, with the school board and city disagreeing about which party should be responsible.
The issue of school police is tense in Milwaukee: MPS previously cut ties with police in June 2020 amid calls from local activists about over-policing of people of color in the wake of national protests over the murder of George Floyd.
In a statement Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers said MPS has been working diligently in recent weeks to make progress.
"I'm glad to see this good-faith effort to try and reach consensus. Let's get this done," Evers said.
Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit jsonline.com/rfa.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee schools make offer to fulfill Act 12 school police law
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Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
White House makes statement after Brooke Slusser comes forward with SJSU volleyball allegations
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President Donald Trump's Department of Education opened a federal Title IX investigation into San Jose State in February over the situation involving Fleming and the university's handling of the trans athlete. Slusser issued a response to the White House statement. "I love the steps the White House has taken to eliminate men in women's sports, but as of now, there is so much change that still needs to be made. We have seen baby steps in the right direction, but we still have girls out there having to deal with men on their teams and in their locker rooms," Slusser said. "I feel this needs to be a massive priority so we can stop this madness sooner rather than later. Girls are still suffering every day until we can put a complete stop to these people's false reality and put them where they belong, which is with men's sports." Slusser previously alleged in a lawsuit, signed by 10 other current or former women's college volleyball players against the Mountain West and representatives of SJSU, that Fleming and other teammates snuck out of the team hotel the night before an Oct. 3 game against Colorado State and met with an opposing player. The lawsuit alleged a teammate who snuck out with Fleming later told players and coaches of an alleged plan by Fleming, in a conspiracy with the Colorado State player, to have Slusser spiked in the face during a match. The lawsuit and complaint alleged the players who snuck out told other players and coaches they saw Fleming also hand over an SJSU scouting report with an agreement to throw the match in Colorado State's favor. In November, the Mountain West Conference launched an investigation into the allegations but concluded "sufficient evidence" could not be found. 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Forbes
24-07-2025
- Forbes
Onward! A Personal Tribute To Ed Feulner (1941-2025)
Ed Feulner and three of his main intellectual inspirations: G.K. Chesterton, Russell Kirk, and F. A. ... More Hayek painting by Deborah Melvin Beisner. Photo of a copy of the painting in the author's possession Dr. Edwin J. Feulner Jr. was such a significant policy player for over 50 years that, although numerous leaders have already shared memories of how he influenced their lives, there is ample room for further tributes. I first heard of Ed, as he liked to be called, as an immigrant from Argentina in the late 70s. For me Ed was an immense inspiration and later an extremely generous mentor and advisor. I came to the United States in 1978 to study under Dr. Hans F. Sennholz at Grove City College. Sennholz had been a disciple of Ludwig von Mises and, though of course primarily a teacher, was very active as a speaker in conservative free-market circles. He introduced me to the work of Feulner at the Heritage Foundation. I finally met Feulner in September 1980, when I was invited to the Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) meeting held at the Hoover Institution. Feulner became a key member of the MPS, occupying several leadership positions. My acquaintance with Ed deepened starting in 1985 when I joined Antony Fisher, the founder of the Institute of Economic Affairs in London and later founder of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. Fisher attempted to hire Feulner to lead the International Center for Economic Policy Studies (ICEPS, today the Manhattan Institute). In 1978, Fisher had been discussing the creation of a New York-based think tank with his friend William J. "Bill" Casey, then a New York lawyer. Just as Feulner was about to start his new job, the recently established Heritage Foundation made him a much better offer, and the rest is history. Although disappointed at not being able to hire him, Fisher remained friends with Feulner and invited him to speak at Atlas events. As in its early days Atlas was located in San Francisco, far from Heritage, at first, I mostly saw Feulner at the meetings of the Mont Pelerin Society. At one of those meetings, in Guatemala, I as a member of the program committee was able to invite Fr. Robert Sirico to speak. Sir John Templeton, who worked closely with Antony Fisher, attended the meeting as well. Following conversations during the meeting, Fr. Sirico decided to establish the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, and both Feulner and I were asked to be on Acton's founding board. At the end of our first Acton board retreat, I drove to the airport together with Ed. When I am with influential people, I ask the same questions: Whom do you always read? Who is doing great work, and should we support them more? And: What is the biggest problem we face today in our battle for freedom? I recall his answer to the latter vividly. It was in the mid 90's and Ed said: 'The young people who are joining the movement have a very shallow and superficial understanding of the principles of the free society. They join our think tanks, but they never went through the process of studying all the main works, the Founding Fathers, the great economists, Mises, Hayek, Friedman, conservative thinkers like Russell Kirk.' Feulner invested his time in organizations such as the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), where he served as a long-standing trustee and chairman. ISI aims to fill the void Feulner spoke of by creating fellowships and academic programs for talented young people. In addition to his role as a think tank leader, Ed Feulner also played a significant role in grant-giving foundations such as the Sarah Scaife Foundation, which supports dozens of policy think tanks. He also served as an inspiration for other foundations. 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Dr. Ed Feulner being recognized for his service to the Mont Pelerin Society during the Hong Kong ... More general meeting in 2014. Dr. Allan H. Meltzer (1928-2017), then president of the Society, at his side When in 2014 the Mont Pelerin Society asked me to help choose a gift for Ed Feulner, I had a unique opportunity to learn about what inspired him. Without revealing my intention, I asked him during a private meeting at his office which intellectuals had had the greatest impact on his life. He was quick to answer G.K. Chesterton, Russell Kirk, and F.A. Hayek. An artist who knew him well, Debby Beisner, captured his response in a beautiful painting. Books will be written about Ed Feulner and his legacy. For now, one of his favorite words suffices to remember his spirit: Onward!
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Yahoo
Bill Cassidy tops GOP fundraising in U.S. Senate race
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