Parents, teachers rail against 'takeover' proposal for failing MPS schools, Abele responds

MILWAUKEE -- A luncheon Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele became heated Thursday, June 25th when the topic of Milwaukee Public Schools came up.

Parents and teachers spoke out against a proposal by state lawmakers that would take the lowest performing MPS schools and place them under the care of a commissioner -- appointed by the county executive.

Abele said Thursday the proposal wasn't his idea, but if it becomes a reality, he vows to work closely with the schools' superintendent.

"If this goes through and if I'm going to do it well, I'm telling you right now I'm going to work with Darienne Driver for whom I have a ton of respect. She's the MPS superintendent that, of the three I've worked with, I'm probably more excited about than anyone else. I want to be totally transparent with her and involve her even with the decision on who a new commissioner would be," Abele said.

Abele was the featured speaker at a WisPolitics luncheon and also spoke about the status of a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks in downtown Milwaukee.