Internal MMAC Memo Details Education Policy Strategy
More privatization, less support for MPS
Not surprisingly, MMAC’s agenda supports privatization of public education and the erosion of the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). The business group seeks to increase taxpayer funds for voucher and charter schools; to open the voucher system to all students, regardless of their family’s income; and to provide more support for an increased number of charter schools.
Steve Baas, director of governmental affairs for MMAC, said the group’s agenda promotes quality education, regardless of whether the school is in the public, voucher or charter system.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a government-run system, a private-run system or a chartered system,” Baas said. “Our interest is not in who’s providing quality education, but that quality education options are being provided.”
But MPS board member Larry Miller blasted MMAC’s legislative agenda, saying it removes new reforms that make voucher and charter schools more accountable to parents and taxpayers.
“This isn’t about the kids,” Miller said. “They want everything. They want the money. They want the buildings. This is about control and money.”
The voucher system, long championed by conservatives and the MMAC, was established to allow students from low-income families to use taxpayer funds at a private school that accepts vouchers. Low-income students should have just as much “choice” as students from wealthier families that can pay for a private education, supporters argue.
Yet MMAC is considering legislation that would “remove income limits on eligibility” of voucher students, potentially opening up the system, which includes religious schools, to students from wealthier families.
Baas said the group merely wants to reduce the administrative burden placed on participating schools, which must verify the income eligibility of students. Baas said changes could include removing the income limit or changing reporting requirements.
“It’s as much of an administrative change as a fiscal change,” Baas said.
Redoing
New Reforms
MMAC also
wants to revise changes made to the voucher system by Democrats in recent
legislative sessions. Currently, a new voucher school must be approved by an
outside agency—the New Schools Approval Board, part of Howard Fuller’s
Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University—before
it can accept voucher students.
But MMAC
wants to “designate a replacement entity for new school approval and
simplifying [sic] the administrative requirements” for voucher schools.
Charter
schools get a huge amount of support from the business group. MMAC wants to
“explore the creation of” the Milwaukee Charter Trust, which would operate and
finance a network of charter schools in the city, to lift the cap on MPS
chartered schools, and to open charter schools in MPS facilities.
Baas said
“it remains to be seen” whether MMAC would participate in the new trust.
Also on the
table, according to the memo, is changing the governance of MPS. MMAC, along
with Gov. Jim Doyle, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (the chairman/CEO of Journal Communications,
Steven Smith, serves on the MMAC board) had supported the mayoral takeover of
MPS this past year, but the effort died in the Democratically controlled
Legislature during a special session called by Doyle.
Baas said
the effort has “petered out a bit” but the group would look at a takeover
proposal if one comes forward.
He said
MMAC’s agenda isn’t partisan since it’s about increasing the number of
high-quality schools in the city.
“I think
that legislators on both sides of the aisle got a message this fall that the
status quo is not sufficient,” Baas said. “I think there will be an openness
from both Democrats and Republicans to look at new ways of doing things better.
I’m optimistic that we will have a receptive Legislature, but I’m optimistic that
we will have that receptivity on both sides of the aisle.”
MPS board
member Miller said MMAC-allied Republicans and Gov.-elect Scott Walker would be
more willing to implement the MMAC legislative agenda than Democrats have been
in the past.
“They’re gleeful,”
Miller said of the MMAC. “They’re clicking their heels in the air over the
right-wing takeover of government.”
So, exactly how does MMAC "support...the erosion of the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)"? You make this statement, then provide no evidence to support the point. Is working for better education options "supporting the erosion" of a system that is broken? Does MPS need any "support" in its erosion? It seems to be doing just fine eroding on its own.
Nothing that Baas says in this article is controversial in any way, negative in any way, or otherwise newsworthy. On the other hand, Larry Miller (board member of a failing organization) makes comments that are not supported by any evidence given in the article. What does this have to do with education: “They’re gleeful,” Miller said of the MMAC. “They’re clicking their heels in the air over the right-wing takeover of government.” That comment is pure political sour grapes and has nothing to do with working toward better education in our community.
By the way- what happened with that mayoral takeover of MPS? Once Barrett lost the election, he seemed to lose interest in MPS- haven't heard a word from him about any "takeovers." What a bunch of campaign crap that was...
It was announced this morning the "old news" that Milwaukee was among the top most segregated metros in the country. Funny how these cities all happen to be in the north, an area that did not have a history of slavery. Remember the deep south, when the national guard was needed to integrate the public schools, the southern answer was to take all the white kids out of public school, put them in private school. The north's answer was the classic white flight to the suburbs. When white folk all had money, this did the job well, not any more.
I grew up in the 60's and 70's, I remember the GI Bill and Jimmy Carter days that put a lot of our working class people thru college. Prior to that, the future leaders and managers could only get their schooling beyond HS diplomas and GEDs if their parents were already in those ruling classes, for they were the only ones with enough money. The reins of control had once been effectively passed on due to birthright, not due to talent and merit.
And as the 80's and 90's passed, you could see it revert back to "It's who you know, not what you know", the drive to get back to when money and control could be kept in the families of privilege. You didn't like it when kids from da 'hood or from the poor side of town ended up being bosses over your own blue-blood or white-bread heirs to the family inheritance. That crap had to end!
Besides, it's a total waste of time and money to educate mere retail customers, since we done outsourced all the clock-punching jobs to 3rd world countries. Every company wants all of America as it's customers, but rarely ever wanted to HIRE all of America. It's a lot harder to sell to an educated customer, and still make a con-man's profit.
Got the key? We wanted educated workers, but not after we out-sourced their jobs. Instead, all business really wants is for everyone to take out a loan and spend it in shops filled with foreign-made goods. As a businessman, I don't care if my customers can't pay back those loans, so long as I am not invested in their banknote holders. My job is to cash out as tax-free as possible, on the day the very last loan is spent. After that, I won't need to bail out anymore Wall Street banks.
There was never any plan to truly educate the people of Milwaukee, because we never intended to hire them anyway. That's why we "allowed" the schools to fail!