Gov. Tony Evers remains silent on the call for him to intervene in the Milwaukee Public Schools meltdown and use his education background to set up a new governance structure.

Bill Andrekopoulos, MPS superintendent for eight years until his retirement in 2010 and an educator in that district for 38 years, said in a story published by the Badger Institute Wednesday that unless the school district was willing to yield completely to outside reform, nothing — not the financial bungling or low student performance — would change.

The governor, Andrekopoulos said, ought to appoint a Special Master, who would create an advisory panel of perhaps seven members to run MPS for three to five years. The panel would then decide on a new structure for the district, perhaps giving responsibility to the mayor of Milwaukee. The mayor could then appoint community stakeholder board members.

“One of the things that has never been disrupted in at least 40 years is the governance of MPS, and it’s time to be disrupted for the benefit of the kids and the community.”

Triumphant news, Wisconsin: There will no longer be any students in our entire state who are not proficient in reading or math.

This is a new development. You may have been dismayed to learn previously that of all Wisconsin third-graders in the 2022-23 school year, only 37% were “proficient” or better in reading.

That meant that 61% of third-graders statewide were able to read at only a “basic” or “below basic” level, on track to being cheated out of an education.

No more. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction announced this week that no child’s abilities would be “below basic” or even “basic” any longer.

That isn’t because of an epochal improvement in reading. It’s because the DPI changed its wording. Now, children will be described as “developing” rather than “below basic.”

It’s been almost a year since Republican legislators agreed to let Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee jack up sales taxes in exchange for, among other things, getting the MPS School Board to put cops back in crime-ridden schools.

Act 12, enacted on June 20, 2023, stated that beginning on January 1, 2024, the MPS School Board would “ensure that not fewer than 25 school resource officers are present at schools within the school district during normal school hours and that school resource officers are available during before-school and after-school care, extracurricular activities and sporting events as needed.”

Legislators were generous in giving MPS more than six months to get the cops back in the hallways. It’s now almost six months after that and an MPS spokesman told the Badger Institute last week that “discussions about when, how, where and why are ongoing.”

Maybe the legislature, in the meantime, should start its own discussions about rescinding that sales tax authority.

And, on a related note, check out this piece by veteran reporter and former columnist Chris Rickert in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Police: School staffers objected to students' gun arrests

Only in Madison. Or maybe Milwaukee.

Prices continue to squeeze wallets in Wisconsin. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which gathers data on inflation for the federal government, the overall cost of goods and services in the Midwest has climbed since 2014, but the rate of increase became much steeper beginning in early 2021 before a pause in late 2022.

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— Tim Higgins, Appleton
President, Free Speech For Campus

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— William Nietert, Wausau

“My recall of my time at UW is an overlay of what Dr. Owens conveys in the interview. To my recall, rare, if ever, were conservative views or perspectives conveyed in lectures or activities. For example, YAF was viewed with condescension; a fringe group of lost souls who ‘didn’t get it.’ Bluntly, I am glad I am as old as I am. The lack of balance does not impact me. However, I despair for my children and my children’s children.”

— Kramer Rock, Green Bay

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