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SROs in Milwaukee Public Schools; conflicting responses

By and FOX6 News Digital Team
Updated  September 16, 2024 5:35pm CDT
Milwaukee Public Schools
FOX6 News Milwaukee

SROs in MPS? Conflicting responses

Competing statements from Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee City Attorney leave many questions over school resource officers at schools.

The Brief

    • Milwaukee Public Schools announced it reached a "Memorandum of Understanding" agreement with police to implement a school resource officers program.
    • MPS has not released a timeline for when it will be in full compliance with the measure.
    • It is already months behind the bill's deadline.

MILWAUKEE - Deal or no deal?

The competing statements from Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee City Attorney leave many questions. It all centers on bringing back school resource officers.

It’s been a nine-month delay in bringing cops back to MPS. State law required 25 of them by Jan. 1, 2024.

"At this point, I’m not sure why we haven’t gotten the school resource officers in place," Alderwoman Larresa Taylor said. "We definitely see that we have a need for them in the schools, with everything that’s happening."

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MPS on Friday said "MPD and MPS agreed upon the "Memorandum of Understanding."

But, then, hours later, Milwaukee City Attorney Evan Goyke, representing MPD, said no final deal was reached.

"There remain outstanding and unresolved issues, and there is no completed agreement at this time," Goyke said in a statement.

Then on Monday, MPS e-mailed FOX6: "All primary stakeholders involved agreed to the language of the MOU last week and MPS stands by its previous statement."

To get to the bottom of the truth, FOX6 requested interviews with MPS, MPD and City Attorney Goyke. None agreed. Still, some city leaders were willing to talk.

Various sources inside city hall said one of the sticking points was who was going to pay for the officers.

"The crux of it, who is paying? Are they going to get paid from MPS or the police budget?" Alderman DiAndre Jackson said.

The state law, enacted in 2023, said the city and school district "shall agree to an appointment of the costs."

Some Common Council members didn't want to have the city foot the bill for the district.

"I think they have the capacity to take care of the costs for the school resource officers," Alderman Mark Chambers said.

Back in 2015, the deal between MPS and MPD had the district pay for six of the 12 officers' salaries just during the school year, and the city paid for the other six.

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"If I put the funds to the police officers," Jackson said. "I’d rather see them in the streets, I want to see them riding around, I want to see them doing actual police work, not saying being in schools wouldn’t be police work, but the schools already have security guards and if that is the case to put in, then they should be paid from the MPS budget."

MPS ended contracts with MPD in 2020. But last summer, state law required MPS to bring them back.

"I just think the police officers in schools just further instilling the school to prison pipeline," Jackson said.

"They built a relationship with the students," Taylor said of school resource officers she witnessed as an MPS high school teacher. "They were trusted adults for the students."

MPS said it hoped to start the program as soon as officers are available. But, the city attorney said there are still unresolved issues.