Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says lawmakers may cut the budget for Milwaukee Public Schools because of local resistance to a turnaround district that prompted a top official to resign. Credit: Morry Gash

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The head of the state Senate on Thursday said lawmakers may cut the budget for Milwaukee Public Schools because of local resistance to a turnaround district that prompted a top official to resign.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said Republicans were so frustrated with MPS they may push for dramatic changes to how the state's largest school district operates.

"Unfortunately, I think the only hammer is, 'Listen, if you're not going to participate, if you're going to try to work around the law and we're going to end up in court over this thing, then you're probably going to see some significant reduction in revenue for MPS schools related to the opportunity schools.' And I hope it doesn't come to that, but I can see already that it's kind of being teed up that way," Fitzgerald said Thursday in an interview on "UpFront with Mike Gousha" on WISN-TV.

Fitzgerald made his comments a day after Demond Means resigned as Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program commissioner. Means is the Mequon-Thiensville superintendent and he had agreed to also serve as the turnaround commissioner at the behest of Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker and GOP lawmakers voted to form the turnaround district last year. Last week, MPS rejected an invitation to partner with Means and Abele on a plan to improve some of the district's poorest performing schools and instead floated a counterproposal that would have allowed Abele and Means to open an independent early childhood program in one of its underused buildings.

No compromise was in sight and Means quit — prompting the ire of Republicans who control the Legislature. Fitzgerald said school officials appeared unwilling to go along with state law.

"If you keep going back to the Legislature and your response to some type of reform in MPS is that we don't want to participate, it once again, I think, sets the table for, you know, the state Legislature taking even more aggressive moves in dealing with MPS," Fitzgerald said.

Asked if Republicans would consider stripping power from the MPS Board, Fitzgerald said, "I wouldn't take anything off the table when it comes to MPS."

MPS spokesman Tony Tagliavia said in a written statement the district is implementing reforms and will share them with lawmakers as they prepare the state budget next year.

"MPS has and will continue to meet its obligations under the law," he said in his statement. "It's important to remember that the OSPP law places the authority and responsibility of transferring schools in the hands of the county executive and the commissioner.

"The county executive and commissioner presented a proposal in late April of this year. MPS subsequently met with the two within the time frame they had provided to offer an alternative. At the conclusion of that meeting, MPS was told that the county executive and commissioner would review the alternative. Five days later, we learned that the commissioner resigned and we were surprised by that decision."

A spokesman for Walker did not say Thursday whether he supported cutting funding for MPS. But he recently rejected an idea floated by Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R-Menomonee Falls) to trim aid to Milwaukee if the city didn't get a better handle on crime.

Michael Bonds, the lone MPS board member to publicly support the Abele-Means proposal, said he was not surprised by Fitzgerald's comments.

"That's been one of my fears, that if we didn't follow the law we'd face repercussions," said Bonds.

Kim Schroeder, president of the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, said he found Fitzgerald's remarks disturbing.

"To me, it proves that the intent all along was to hurt MPS and the students in MPS," he said.

Fitzgerald's warning comes just weeks after Republican lawmakers vowed to consider boosting funding for a host of urban education initiatives, from expanding summer school and early childhood programs to improving access to mental health care for students.

Speaking alongside MPS Superintendent Darienne Driver for the release of an Assembly task force report on urban education, Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) at the time said task force members are committed "to working together to make sure that every single one of our schools continues to thrive and succeed."