The People Speak...for Hours

If Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent William Andrekopoulos thought that it would be easy to gain approval to burden Milwaukee taxpayers with a 16.4% increase in property taxes to fund the schools, he was wrong.

Judging from the turnout for Tuesday night's hearing on the proposal, you'd think that Milwaukee residents were on board with the tax hike.

What a difference 48 hours makes!

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Hundreds of people flooded the central office building of the Milwaukee Public Schools on Thursday night, with the vast majority there to show their intense opposition to a proposal to raise the tax levy for MPS this year by 16.4%.

The turnout was an extreme contrast to a hearing Tuesday night when one person testified against the proposal and several others testified in favor.

At the time the meeting began, Thursday's crowd filled the School Board auditorium, several hallways, a cafeteria and a meeting room elsewhere in the building where the proceedings could be heard. The crowd dwindled as the evening proceeded.

The huge showing set the scene for action by board members, which was expected by dawn today. It appeared unlikely that there was enough support on the board to approve the 16.4% increase, which MPS officials say was caused by a decline in state aid to MPS.

Dozens of people took two-minute turns telling the board that they could not afford a property tax increase of the size proposed by Superintendent William Andrekopoulos. Many said rising taxes were threatening their ability to keep their homes.

"Are any of you on medication?" one older man asked board members.

"If I end up paying this, I will lose my house," said Carmella Thomas, a west side resident.

"These property taxes you are putting on these citizens are forcing out the middle class," Ahmie-Woma Farkas said. Clearly near tears, the west side mother added, "I've been here 40 years, watching my city die, and it kills me."

The people are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore.

Just a "handful" of people spoke in support of the increase.

...Earlier Thursday, six members of the Milwaukee Common Council held a news conference in the City Hall rotunda to express their opposition to the tax levy proposal, and Mayor Tom Barrett sent a letter to board members urging them to oppose such a large increase, chiding them for not fighting harder for changes in the way the private school voucher program is funded. Barrett said ideas not included in the new state budget would have helped the property tax picture.

Aldermen Michael Murphy, James Bohl Jr., Joe Dudzik, Robert Donovan, James Witkowiak and Tony Zielinski said at the news conference that they had received no phone calls in support of the proposal and that they had numerous calls in opposition.

Bohl said the aldermen understood that much of the problem was caused by a sharp decline in state aid to MPS this year and that there were funding flaws in the ways schools were supported by the state. But, he said, "You can't just turn around every time you get socked and sock the taxpayer."

Barrett, in his letter, told board members, "Our children deserve a first-rate education. Our taxpayers are entitled to an equitable and justifiable tax bill. There is no question that reaching that balance is difficult. Raising the levy 16.4% does not achieve that balance."

While Barrett has a point about school choice funding, it would also be a good idea for him to call for board members to cut the fat in order to avoid such an enormous increase.

The aldermen deserve credit for listening to their constituents and responding to their concerns.

It looks like the School Board is in for a long, long night.

The School Board's debate on Milwaukee Public Schools' proposed tax levy increase began about midnight after more than 4 1/2 hours of public testimony.

A decision by the School Board was not expected until the early hours of Friday morning. It appeared unlikely that there was enough support on the board to approve the proposed 16.4% tax levy increase, which MPS officials say was caused by a decline in state aid to MPS.

Hundreds of people flooded the central office building of the Milwaukee Public Schools on Thursday night, with the vast majority there to show their intense opposition to the proposed tax levy increase. The public testimony ended at about 11:40 p.m. Thursday.

It's important for Milwaukee residents to pay attention to how their School Board members vote on this measure.

As Ald. Bohl said, "You can't just turn around every time you get socked and sock the taxpayer."

It's time for the tax hikers to be held accountable.