Wednesday, April 23, 2008

MPS Board Votes To Cut Busing

Here’s some good news for Milwaukee.

A Milwaukee School Board committee voted unanimously Tuesday night “to reduce massive busing” within Milwaukee Public Schools, a step that could lead to major changes in the way the system functions and the options parents and students are given in selecting schools.

The board’s finance committee said it wanted $20 million cut from the amount spent on busing by the 2009-‘10 school year, more than two-thirds of the amount spent to bus students who do not fit into special categories or have special needs.

If implemented as envisioned by the main sponsor, board member Michael Bonds, the $20 million savings would be spent on a list of efforts to improve and build up faltering schools, primarily on the north side.

More broadly, it would be the strongest step toward cutting busing in Milwaukee since court ordered school desegregation began in 1976. At one time, more than 70% of all students in the city were bused to school; currently, more than 50% of students are bused, and MPS spends more than $55 million on busing.

Busing is not only expensive, but if has been fracturing Milwaukee for decades.  Too bad it took so long for some people to recognize the disastrous effects of forced desegregation via busing.

(3) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0700 hrs
Culture + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. While it would be a very good thing to end busing, it probably won’t happen.  Busing is a huge gravy train for the private bus companies and there will be hundreds of drivers losing their jobs.  There will be a huge publicity campaign to fight this.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 23, 2008 at 0837 hrs


  2. The only way this is positive, is if the neighborhood schools dramatically increase in quality, which I doubt is in the near future. If someone had told me I had to go to Garfield instead Meir, Robinson instead of Morse, or North instead of King, I would have a heart attack. In a hyper segregated city like Milwaukee, kids should be able to go where they want and experience whomever and whatever is in those schools.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 24, 2008 at 0029 hrs


  3. Too bad it has taken MPS so long to realize busing is a bad solution for low scores among minorities and busing breaks the family’s tie to the school a child attends as the school is out of the neighborhood.

    Over 30 years ago when the law suit was started to more integrate Milwaukee schools, critics of busing as a solution pointed all this out, but were called racists and worse names for pointing out the obvious.

    Posted by T. Bone on April 24, 2008 at 1212 hrs


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