Latest news with #MissyZombor
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
MPS plans to enhance student voice in decision-making, ensure students have seat on board
Milwaukee Public Schools is looking to reaffirm a half-century-old policy that would allow students to have a consistent seat on the School Board. The policy reaffirmation is taking place to see what students want revised within the current legislation, said School Board President Missy Zombor. The board hopes to cut down barriers to participation and appoint a student representative to sit on the board. Zombor said students may currently struggle to participate due to the number of board meetings, which can be difficult to attend on top of schoolwork and personal responsibilities. Additionally, she said, some meetings may not feel relevant to students. Zombor is seeking student feedback on which meetings they think make the most sense for representatives to attend. "This is about opening up that conversation," Zombor said. "How do they envision what would give them the most impact, and give them the most access to the board in a way that helps them share what's most important to them?" MPS adopted Administrative Policy 8.18: Student Involvement in Decision Making in December 1971 and most recently revised the policy in July 2012. The policy states that as societal changes take place, schools make decisions that "vitally affect" students, who "wish to be involved in these decisions and express their feelings about them." The MPS Superintendent's Student Advisory Council, comprising student representatives from each high school in the district, seeks to create dialogue between students and the superintendent. Administrative Policy 8:18 states that the SSAC should develop a process for two students to be selected annually to sit with the board during deliberation. These two students are free to attend all non-executive board sessions, receive all nonconfidential materials and speak to the board, under the administrative policy. However, students on the board are not allowed to vote or make motions. Zombor explained that MPS is bound by state statutes that require voting members to be selected by the electorate. Despite this, she said the board will still try to give students to as much access as possible. "Having a student on the board helps remind us that every decision we make impacts students," Zombor said. "I'm really looking forward to reaffirming that policy." David Valdés, student engagement associate for SSAC, said it's important to him to see students expressing themselves freely to adults who are willing to listen. He cited school safety and mental health as two concerns that students frequently bring up in SSAC meetings. "We need to build a bridge so that our kids are able to speak openly about what's going on in their school without shame," Valdés said. "They should be able to have adults in their life in the district who are willing to listen to them." Having a student seat on a school board isn't unique to MPS, Zombor said. Some nearby school districts already have this in their administrative policy. Kaymin Phillips, a senior at Shorewood High School, has served as one of the Shorewood School Board student representatives for a year. The student body elected her in June 2024, and she began attending biweekly board meetings in September. Phillips said she applied for the position her junior year because she's always been interested in politics and felt it was a chance to be involved in a "mini government." "As a minority, I know a lot of people don't feel heard, and I know that having those voices in that type of seat is very important," Phillips said. "Being able to advocate for my fellow students and everything feels good, to know that we're helping make a difference." Phillips said it makes her hopeful to hear that MPS is working to implement student voices on its board. She said students should use the opportunity to speak up for their teachers with everything MPS is going through. On May 13, the Shorewood School Board voted unanimously to eliminate one staff position and reduce three other positions to part time. Phillips said she and other students pitched ideas to the board opposing the cuts and supporting their teachers. "My voice really helped during that decision," Phillips said. "I feel like they were just thinking of money, but not thinking of the students who it was affecting, cutting classes that we enjoy and cutting teachers." The policy reaffirmation will be requested at the Committee on Legislation, Rules and Policies meeting June 12. Zombor said the School Board has asked Valdés for any student-recommended policy changes and has invited students to reach out to board members directly with their thoughts. "This is a really great way for students to get involved in the district and get involved in change, and learn how one person can make change through policy," Zombor said. The immediate implementation of a student seat on the school board will depend on whether SSAC students can elect a representative by the beginning of the school year, Zombor said. She added that while the student representatives would ideally start by the September board cycle, she wants them to participate in some sort of orientation before jumping into meetings. In the future, Zombor said the policy can always be revised to reflect what works best for students. "I feel like a lot of schools might think it's cool to add a representative position just for the outside look and showing that 'We value our students,'" Phillips said. "But I think it's really important for the actual school members to be listening to what they say, instead of just having them there to listen." Contact Mia Thurow at mthurow@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS School Board president wants to add student seat
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Deadline for MPS school resource officers, no deal reached yet
The Brief Today (Feb. 17) is the deadline for MPD officers to be in Milwaukee Public Schools. So far, a deal on making that happen has not yet been reached. If a deal is not reached, MPS will have to go back to court and explain why. MILWAUKEE - Students won't be in class across Milwaukee Public Schools on Monday, Feb. 17 (Presidents Day) - but the district will be at the bargaining table. It's the deadline for MPS to have 25 officers back in schools. And as of this Monday morning, no deal has been reached. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News If a deal is not reached by today, the district will have to go to court to explain why. The backstory A judge's ultimatum requires there to be 25 school resource officers across the district. It's unclear what schools the officers would go to though. So why hasn't a deal been done yet? The district is still negotiating about who will pay for the officers. Last week, members of the MPS board gave an update on where negotiations stand. "Right now we have an offer on the table with the city: 33% plus training. We've offered to go to mediation. And so that's where it stands right now. So, now we're waiting," said MPS board member Missy Zombor. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android Late last year, a parent sued the district for missing the deadline. And a judge ruled in favor of that parent- and put today's deadline in place. What they're saying On Monday, Feb. 17, MPS released a statement, saying: "Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) remains ready to implement a School Resource Officer (SRO) program as soon as officers are made available. MPS will continue its efforts to negotiate with the City of Milwaukee regarding the implementation of SROs and is committed to working collaboratively with the City to build a sustainable SRO program." The Source FOX6 has been covering the ongoing situation over school resource officers between Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee Police Department.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MPS school resource officers; board, city near agreement deadline
The Brief Milwaukee Public Schools and the City of Milwaukee have a court deadline to place 25 school resource officers in schools by Monday. MPS made an offer to pay 33% of the costs for officers, as well as for training them, with the city paying the rest. It's a fight over how much the city pays and how much MPS pays – two pots of your tax money. MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee is likely to miss a judge's deadline to have school resource officers back in its schools. The backstory Wisconsin state law required Milwaukee Public Schools to bring on 25 school resource officers by January 2024. That date passed, and no police. Then, a whole year passed, and still none. Then, at the end of January 2025, a judge ordered MPS to follow the law, which is to bring back 25 school resource officers by Monday, Feb. 17, or come back to court to explain why it hasn't. What we know The sticking point was and still is: paying for the school resource officers. It's a fight over how much the city pays and how much MPS pays – two pots of your tax money. MPS board member Missy Zombor revealed the district's proposal: to pay 33% of the salaries and benefits for 25 school resource officers during the school year. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News "We've been negotiating with the city. Right now we have an offer on the table with the city: 33% plus training. We've offered to go to mediation. And so that's where it stands right now," Zombor said. "So, now we're waiting." Zombor said the district's early offer was to pay 25%, then, it went to 30%, and now it's offering to pay 33%. The other side City spokesperson Jeff Fleming wasn't happy private negotiations were shared publicly, sharing the following: "At the most recent negotiating session, MPS agreed to maintain confidentiality about the status and terms each side had proposed. It is highly disappointing MPS has broken that promise. To correct a misstatement made last evening, the City of Milwaukee first recommended mediation, and MPS subsequently appeared open to that. The city continues to act in good faith, and it is our hope we can resolve any differences through the mutually agreed upon process. So, for the time being we will not comment further on what is taking place at the negotiating table." In response, Zombor Zombor said she felt it was her responsibility to answer questions honestly and transparently. Dig deeper FOX6 tracked down previous contracts for school resource officers. The documents from 2009 and 2015 show an equal split of the costs: 50/50 for the city and school district just for the months the officers were working in the school program. The older deals also placed a cap on how much MPS would pay. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android Even if a deal was in place – and it's not – the law requires the officers to go through a specific 40-hour training program. State law says that Milwaukee officers will have to complete the 40-hour course of the National Association of School Resource Officers. What they're saying On the Milwaukee school board's agenda Tuesday night, Feb. 11, was the possibility to go into closed session to talk with attorneys about implementing the SRO requirement. When asked about implementing the requirement, MPS Board President Marva Herndon replied with the following: "Not at this time." When asked if SROs were discussed, she replied, "We did." Gov. Tony Evers said the following in a statement on Wednesday, Feb. 12: "MPS has been working diligently in recent weeks to make progress on this issue, and I'm glad to see this good-faith effort to try and reach consensus [...] Let's get this done." The Source The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.
