As a new MPS parent, trying to figure out the basics of starting school is hard enough. Staying on top of the misinformation and lack on information flying around at the moment about Wisconsin's largest school district seems nearly impossible without making a full-time job of it.
The mayor, governor and state's superintendent of public instruction want to take control of the school board and replace its elected members with appointed ones. Maybe it will be successful, maybe it won't. Apparently, this has occurred in other cities and the jury is out on whether or not it works.
What we do know -- and presumably all agree upon -- is that the current set-up is hardly optimal.
Some say that the plan undercuts the democratic process because the school board is elected. Doesn't that fact that almost none of us votes in the school board election do as much to poo-poo the idea of a democratically elected school board?
On the local news last night, some shouted that the plan was racist because the school board president is African-American (two of the other eight board members are also black) and the mayor, the governor and the superintendent of public instruction are white.
A fifth grade MPS teacher with three kids in the district -- who is African-American -- was also interviewed and said she thinks race is beside the point. Something needs to change, she said, so why not give this a try.
Others said it was racist to continue to let MPS students down.
One angry woman who opposes the plan said the school district is 90% African-American. This morning, a newspaper column said that, in fact, 57% of MPS students are African-American. Slight difference there.
How can anyone be expected to craft an informed judgment with this kind of conflicting information in the air?
The whole thing is starting to feel like what the media is charitably calling the "debate" about health care reform. While those with an agenda stretch and bend the facts to suit their positions, uninsured Americans still lack good access to health care.
While Milwaukeeans argue about who (to say nothing of which race) should (wo)man the controls at MPS, Milwaukee's kids remain powerless and trapped in the middle.
Black, white or other, that's a tragedy.
Having grown up as an entirely public schooled kid and a resident of one big city or another, I'm committed to MPS. You can't be a part of the victory if you remove yourself from the game. I'm extremely happy to be a parent at a great MPS school. I hope I can continue to say that.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
