By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

MILWAUKEE – The opponents of school choice are working overtime to keep new charter and private schools from opening in Milwaukee.

Their goal is to trap K-12 students (and the state money attached to them) trapped in traditional public schools, whether their needs are met or not.

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The latest example comes from the Milwaukee Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee, which has recommended a new ordinance that would require large amounts of play space to be set aside at any new school in the city.

Given the lack of available real estate in the city, it would be difficult for any new school to meet the requirements of the new ordinance, according to Terry Brown, vice president of School Choice Wisconsin. For example, St. Marcus Lutheran School, an outstanding parochial school in Milwaukee, would not have been able to complete a recent expansion if the ordinance had been in place, he said.

And that’s exactly what the public school establishment has in mind.

Several new charter schools have already gained the necessary approval to open in Milwaukee over the next few years. Meanwhile, the city’s school voucher program continues to attract students to outstanding private and parochial schools.

Officials at Milwaukee Public Schools don’t care for the competition, because the district loses money every time a student leaves for a private or charter school. The Milwaukee Teachers Education Association has also taken a stance against charter and private schools, because they typically don’t hire union teachers.

The city’s education establishment is suspected of encouraging the formation of a group called “Women Committed to an Informed Community.” Members of the group have been lobbying various city committees and departments to prevent more charter and private schools from coming to town, according to Brown.

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Somehow the group’s influence reached the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee, which debated and recommended the “play area” policy on very short notice.

The Milwaukee Common Council is expected to vote on the proposed ordinance this month, according to Brown.

“In a time when students in Milwaukee perform significantly below their peers academically, the committee chose to require new schools to direct dollars to playgrounds, not classrooms,” said Jim Bender, president of School Choice Wisconsin. “The goal of this policy is to restrict education reform in Milwaukee, not improve education.”