Public schools are supposed to be about the kids.
We have public schools to make sure young people are prepared for the real world after high school. Schools do not exist to get young people into college or help them become welders. And public schools do not exist to make sure teachers and school administrators have jobs.
School are supposed to be for the kids.
But the massive tax hike that Milwaukee Public School leaders are pitching has very little to do with kids.
In addition to doubling the property tax bill for homeowners in Milwaukee, the tax hike plan would hire hundreds or thousands of new teachers and school workers.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel puts the number of new teachers anywhere between 1,982 and 966. That's in addition to the 10,000 people who already work in the school district.
More money equals more teachers, and that somehow equals more for the kids?
Milwaukee Public Schools are already failing their kids. Literally. State test scores show that more than 80 percent of MPS students can't read or do math at grade level.
MPS is not alone. Dozens of other schools across the state are working on referendum questions of their own. And hundreds of schools have asked taxpayers for more over the past few years.
And, just like the MPS tax hike, a good chunk of that money never ends-up helping the kids.
Photo Credit: Milwaukee Public Schools
Milwaukee is not alone in selling tatz hikes for kids. Dozens of school districts are planning referedu