Back in the mid-1990s, the idea of the mayor taking over Milwaukee Public Schools was occasionally floated, but never got anywhere because Mayor John Norquist was seen as overbearing, too eager to amass more power. No one has ever made the same accusation of his successor.
Indeed, when Tom Barrett first ran for mayor in 2004, he proposed such a governance change, and in the face of criticism, backed off within two days. “I don’t want to be the piñata on this issue,” he told me at the time.
In the last couple years, Barrett has gotten increasing pressure, from the business community, from local community activists, from Gov. Jim Doyle, to take over the schools. But he kept dragging his feet. Perhaps the final convincer was U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who has offered the carrot of federal funding for Milwaukee Public Schools should that happen. If a governance change was ever going to happen, the time to do so was clearly now.
Under the proposed change, the mayor would directly appoint the MPS superintendent, and would appoint school board members, with Common Council approval. The idea is being attacked, with the same bizarre argument offered over and over.
“It’s anti-democratic,” Ald. Tony Zielinski announced. “People are taken aback by what sounds to them like a dictatorship,” noted state Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee). “Democracy is too important to be snatched from the voters without a lot of discussion,” declared blogger Ed Garvey. “The mayor and governor want to give control to some non-elected cabal,” the Shepherd Express complained.
They couldn’t be more wrong. A mayor-run school system would be more democratic, because a tiny percentage of city residents votes for school board members. These elections are often special interest affairs, with the teachers union and the business community advocating for their favorite, and most voters snoozing through it. That’s why lazy or clueless board members can get re-elected for term after term. By contrast, no local race gets a bigger turnout or more scrutiny than the race for mayor. This will elevate the issue of education and make the schools as important as other major issues like crime and the property tax.
I have previously noted other advantages of governance change. Briefly, it will result in less union dominance of a board that has previously caved in to demands for excessive benefits; a better-managed budget; lower administrative costs; more coordinated lobbying of the legislature by the city; and better-performing schools.
Now we can add another advantage: a significant boost in federal money. We will only get this, Duncan has made clear, if Milwaukee schools go through a major structural change.
Union leaders are already lobbying to kill the idea. That includes the Milwaukee teachers union as well as some behind-the-scenes pressure by Mike Rosen, who heads the Milwaukee Area Technical College teachers union (which has always had clout with – and gotten very favorable contracts from— the MATC board). For that matter, Garvey (who lives in Madison, 75 miles outside the Milwaukee school district) seems very concerned about collective bargaining agreements achieved by the teachers union.
It’s likely the state teachers union will also oppose this, and now that Doyle is a lame duck, they would have nothing to fear in opposing him. That, and the unfortunate attack on Barrett over the weekend, leaves the mayor recuperating and could slow the momentum on this proposal.
Ultimately, the issue could come down to how Milwaukee’s legislative delegation feels about this proposal, particularly black lawmakers. The legislature won’t approve the idea if most city lawmakers oppose it.
Common Council President Willie Hines, who is black, says he sees no reason why African-American legislators should vote no. He notes that Duncan works for President Barack Obama. “This idea is being driven by a black president, the first black president of the United States. This is about a school district with 80 percent of its students being African-American, and they are not being adequately served.”
Hines not only supports the proposed governance change, but adds, “that still may not be enough. More has to be put on the table.”
The reality is that MPS, despite some good schools and many fine teachers, has been failing for decades. True, mayoral control is no panacea. (Nothing is.) But something radically different has to be tried, and there has never been a better opportunity to do so.
The Skylight Revolt: The Inside Story
There’s been lots written about the rescue of the Skylight Opera Theatre, but the full story has yet to be told. And it’s quite a story.
Recall that the firing of artistic director Bill Theisen had triggered a veritable artists’ revolt: Some two dozen freelance singers, actors, directors and designers withdrew from their contracts. They protested online and even picketed the theater, demanding the firing of managing director Eric Dillner. Yet the Skylight board voted 16-to-12 to retain Dillner, and stood steadfast for nearly two months, only to announce on Aug. 5 that Dillner would resign. Why the turnaround?
It turns out there was another group of influential Skylight supporters operating behind the scenes. For many years, the Skylight has had a support group called the “Board of Advocates,” which includes former board members and others who have been longtime donors to the theater. “The group goes back 20 or 30 years,” says Tim Frautschi, a retired Foley & Lardner lawyer and key member of the group. Both Tim and his wife Sue Frautschi served terms as board president of the Skylight and watched the controversy with great concern.
“I could follow it through all the blogs,” Frautschi notes. “It was a public relations battle and the artists used the Internet extremely effectively.”
“Everybody (in the Board of Advocates) was talking about it,” Frautschi recalls. So he suggested they all get together at his Third Ward apartment to discuss the situation. Ultimately, he says, the group voted 21-to-0 to take action.
In the meantime, former Skylight Managing Director Colin Cabot had offered his services to the Skylight board of directors to help solve the controversy, only to be turned down. Cabot then contacted the Board of Advocates and began working with them.
The group’s steering committee includes the Frautschis, retired U.S. Bank executive Blaine Rieke, retired businessman Bill Johnson, Racine-based corporate executive John Shannon, and longtime community volunteer powerhouse (and former Skylight board president) Mary Pollock. Working with Cabot, and calling themselves “The A Team,” the group set out to raise enough money to make a serious dent in the theater’s $450,000 cumulative debt.
The group contacted the Skylight board and proposed to raise $200,000 if the board matched that donation and agreed to certain conditions: (1) Dillner would resign and (2) The Skylight board would work with the Board of Advocates to institute certain organizational changes. An e-mail outlining these conditions was sent to Skylight supporters by Cabot.
The divided board of directors, facing an outraged artistic community, and a huge financial hole, was in no position to reject the offer. Current Skylight board President Terry Kurtenbach denies that things worked this simply. But just five days after Cabot’s e-mail, Dillner announced his resignation. (Kurtenbach says “Eric made his own decision based on his career objectives.”) Coupled with the resignation came the announcement that Cabot would come back as interim artistic director and former Skylight Managing Director Joan Lounsbery would return to fill that position on a temporary basis.
Update, 3:35 August 18: Colin Cabot called to note that while members of the Board of Advocates did express an opinion suggesting Dillner resign, the group never delivered an ultimatum of any kind (including the email letter) to the board. “We discussed this and decided against it,” Cabot says, adding that the goal was to work cooperatively with the current board of directors.
Tim Frautschi believes the firing of Theisen, the act that set off the controversy, was handled poorly. He says it was decided by only two or three members of the board’s executive committee – this on a board that had more than 30 members. (Former Skylight board President Suzanne Hefty, presumably the key person to make that decision, resigned back in July.)
“There are some very good people on the board, “ he says, “but I think the board had become disconnected. They let the financial problems build up for years. Getting rid of the artistic director sent out a message that this (artistic achievement) is not what the Skylight is about.”
There were some board members and Skylight observers who clearly felt the theater had to take a stand against insubordination by the artists – a “don’t let the lunatics run the asylum” sort of attitude. On the contrary, says Frautschi: “The artists performed a terrific service in raising such a stink. It’s really heartwarming that they cared so much about this.”
But it’s equally heartwarming that longtime supporters like the Board of Advocates cared so much. ”The Skylight is unique in that people feel a personal connection,” Frautschi says. “The word that kept coming up again and again is the Skylight family.”
Indeed, the two dozen artists who pulled out have all rejoined the family. Some have agreed to call subscribers who didn’t renew season tickets. (An estimated 16 percent did not renew.) The Skylight’s 50th anniversary season is now back on track, with an extra emotional punch.
The Buzz:
-With Doyle pulling out of the race, Scott Walker is now the front runner for governor. Why? Because he actually raised more money than Doyle (or anyone else) in the first six months of 2009. Because he’s in essence been running for governor since he became Milwaukee County Executive in 2002, and really knows the issues. And because he’s a hard-working candidate with a strong, clear message. Walker is ahead of everyone at this stage of the game, Democrat or Republican. That doesn’t mean they can’t catch up. But it makes Walker the man to beat.
-The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel offered three strong investigative pieces on Sunday, but I was particularly impressed with the story on how the American economy is being hurt by an increasing delay in how fast patents are issued. This is a nationally significant story and not to be missed.
-And (argh) insiders are now saying Brett Favre might actually join the Vikings. The Sports Nut intercepts the reports.
