Farewell, Milwaukee Mayoral Takeover

Christian Schneider:

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's entrance into the race for Wisconsin Governor means many things; but perhaps most importantly, it means the death of the plan to have the mayor take over the Milwaukee Public Schools.

Last year, Wisconsin Interest magazine editor Charlie Sykes noted Barrett's reluctance to follow through on the plan:

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett continues to downplay his interest in a mayoral takeover, saying "I'm not interested in a power grab." But his call for a privately-funded assessment of the district marked a new activism on the mayor's part, reflecting the growing national movement toward putting mayors in charge of their city's schools.

In the last decade and a half at least a dozen of the nation's largest school districts have been handed over to mayoral control, most notably in Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Philadelphia's schools are run by a board jointly appointed by the mayor and the governor.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at November 17, 2009 1:01 AM
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