Last week, Wisconsin received a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements...

Looked at rationally, Gregory Thornton, Ph.D., the newly chosen superintendent who will take over the leadership of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), should have overwhelming support to begin reforming the state’s largest urban school district. Thornton topped the list of applicants in a nationwide search conducted...

Issue of the Week City of Milwaukee-Operated Schools vs. Milwaukee Public Schools Everyone agrees that MPS needs reform. But what kind of reform will best serve the educational needs of the stude

MPS Board President Michael Bonds has sent an open letter to Gov. Jim Doyle, Mayor Tom Barrett, and State Superintendent Tony Evers outlining why a mayoral takeover of the district, which would require a change in state law, is a bad idea. Some excerpts: Destroying democracy and disenfranchising thousands of voters: “Your takeover effort...

MPS board member Michael Bonds was elected president of the MPS Board of Directors in a 6-3 vote on Tuesday night. Peter Blewett, who previously headed the board, supported Bonds' election and will now serve as vice president. Bonds is a fiscal policy expert who has introduced a flurry of finance-related budget amendments and resolutions during his first two years on the boa...

Michael Bonds was elected the new president of the MPS board of directors in a 6-3 vote Tuesday night. Here's part two of my interview with Bonds. (You can find the first part here.) Shepherd: One of the big issues brought up in the audit is fringe benefits. Do you plan on addressing that soon? Bonds: Yes, we have to. I have been discussing it with state repr...

The Journal Sentinel has just printed an editorial bemoaning the fact that the new school board president, Michael Bonds, proposed a number of changes that did not pass by a majority of the board. The Journal Sentinel was highly critical of one of Mr. Bonds' proposals and also pointed out that the board president even ended up voting against one of his own ideas. Because of these v...

MPS Board President Michael Bonds has submitted a letter to Mayor Tom Barrett announcing his decision to resign from Barrett�s appointed MPS Innovation and Improvement Advisory Committee �immediately.� I just got off the phone with Pat Curley, Barrett�s top aide, who hadn�t heard that Bonds had turned in his resignation letter. �We�re very,...

MPS Board President Michael Bonds resigned from Mayor Barrett’s MPS Innovation and Improvement Advisory Council yesterday, which seemed to catch Team Barrett off guard. Bonds’ abrupt announcement was to protest private conversations the mayor, Gov. Jim Doyle and state Superintendent Tony Evers have been having over taking over the elected MPS board—and selecting the next MPS superintendent. ...

The Milwaukee Public Schools board is in the process of recruiting a new super-intendent who will hopefully have the experience, vision and leadership skills to move the struggling school system forward. This is serious business because our future, the children, depend on our...