A recent report by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) shows Milwaukee is consistently not making vacant school buildings available for sale to education operators even though state law clearly requires them to do so. The report raises serious concerns, and we will be looking for ways to make sure the law is being followed as intended.

Good schools help anchor neighborhoods and increase property values. Vacant buildings don't help at all.  Every day in Milwaukee, kids walk past taxpayer-funded empty school buildings or ride buses across town at great expense because these vacant schools remain unsold. It's not fair to taxpayers and it's certainly not fair to the children and parents.

 

 

From the WILL report :

• The City of Milwaukee failed to list all of the vacant and underutilized buildings for sale and, according to the city's website, only 5 of the 15 empty buildings can be purchased.
• The city's implementation of the law has created obstacles to the purchase of these buildings - creating additional hurdles and unnecessary delays and ignoring state mandated deadlines. For example, Right Step, a choice school that predominately serves children expelled from MPS, was denied the right to purchase a building, 10 months after submitting a letter of interest.
• Milwaukee taxpayers have spent over $10 million to maintain nearly 40 buildings that are vacant or operating at less than 50% capacity.
   

On Monday, I hosted an informational hearing with the Wisconsin Legislative Children's Caucus in Milwaukee on Community Efforts to Strengthen Families.  It was great to meet with Milwaukee area legislators and the other Co-chairs of the Children's Caucus to learn what resources are provided in our area to help families.  We heard from the Parenting Network, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee's Healthy Infant Court, and the Kenosha County Division of Children and Family Services.  While we still have a long way to go, it was great to hear what resources our families can access!

 

This informational hearing is just one of a series that the Children's Caucus is hosting across the state.  I am proud to be a Co-chair of this caucus, as we work to improve the life of every Wisconsin child.  

If you'd like to learn more about the work of the Children's Caucus or watch any of these meetings, please like our Facebook page or look at our website. 

Templeton Middle School in Sussex visited the Capitol this week!