Seven MPS schools close for good on Tuesday

MILWAUKEE -- Tuesday, June 12th was the last day of school for the Milwaukee Public School District, and seven schools in the district shut down for the last time.

Students at MPS' Burroughs Middle School, 65th Street School, Montessori High School, School for Urban Planning and Architecture, Work Institute, Wisconsin Career Academy and Wings Academy will attend different schools in the fall.

"In some cases, there was a mutual decision to end a contract with the district.  In some cases, it`s because the schools just aren`t moving kids forward quite as quickly as really we need to. The others would be schools that just aren`t attracting enough families to truly thrive," MPS spokesman Tony Tagliavia said.

Tagliavia says positions will be eliminated at the schools that are slated to close, but because of retirements, vacant positions and other factors, the district doesn't yet know what that will mean for potential layoffs.

Shanta Purnell's kids have been enrolled at 65th Street School for years.

"It kind of made me teary eyed because of my kids love their teachers, and they have really good teachers here," Purnell said.

MPS says while seven schools are closing, the district is actually expanding to serve more students and plan to move some schools into bigger facilities, where they'll have more room.

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