Mr. Murphy,
Since it has been decades since I served for eight years on the MPS Board; I question why you felt I should be included in your list of questionable members. Following are some of the judgmental calls that I have made through the years:
- In 1971 when I first ran for the MPS Board, I was the only person saying that we had to address the integration of MPS and not wait for a court order. When elected, I was one of the coalition that elected Hal Jackson, the first African-American president of the Board .
- I voted to stop intact busing.
- I opposed forced busing and said that it would cause white flight from MPS and even from the city. My position was that neighborhood schools are not only educationally but sociologically sound. I feel vindicated with the recent demand for neighborhood schools. my position always was in support of specialty schools and even got out of a hospital bed to vote for Dr. McMurrin for Superintendent because of his support for specialty schools.
- Unlike a number of politicians and news media people, my wife and I sent our children to integrated Milwaukee public schools. One graduated from Riverside, and two graduated from Rufus King.
- I succeeded in making reading the #1 priority for MPS
- I always said that the arts are essential and should not be cut from the budget
- When the adult hearing-impaired community pushed for the”total communication” method for teaching children, I became their spokesperson on the Board.
- When the architects presented their plans for a new North Division High School with a minimum of classroom windows, I called it “ghetto architecture” and threatened to resign over the issue. The African-American leadership of Milwaukee asked me to stay because they felt there was no one else on the Board speaking for them.
- When the Neo-Nazis began attending our meetings and making abusive ethnic and racial speeches, I wore a yellow Star of David and took a stand against them. I received a letter of commendation from the Milwaukee Jewish Council.
- When the R.O.T.C. was proposed for some of our high schools, as a Korean War veteran, I opposed it.
Although your comment was in reference to my time on the MPS Board, there are other contributions I feel I have made while in public office. I served three years on the Whitefish Bay School Board and two years on the Whitefish Bay Village Board.
- When I was on the Whitefish Bay School Board I proposed, albeit unsuccessfully, that a 220 parent be allowed to sit on the Board ex officio.
- My suggestion that we serve for $1 a year was defeated, so I set up a fund for field trips to the Milwaukee Art Museum with my salary.
- As a member of the WFB Village Board I was a staunch supporter for pedestrian safety and an opponent of using pesticides in public places.
As an active proponent for public art, the Milwaukee Journal included me in a list of “turtles,” those people who stick their necks out for a cause.
Obviously former Republican Governor Lee Dreyfus and former Socialist Mayor Frank Zeidler would disagree with your opinion that my leadership was questionable, because both of them endorsed me for the Whitefish Bay Village Board.
Anthony Busalacchi
