Here’s some highlights of the cuts being proposed by the South Milwaukee school board:

• Close the district’s pool, saving $150,000
• Eliminate 1.5 Music Positions at the Middle/High School, saving $129,000
• Eliminate 1.0 Instrumental Music Position, saving $120,000. This would completely eliminate the 5th grade through 12th grade orchestra program.
• Eliminate 1.0 High School Technology Education Position, saving $115,000
• Eliminate 1.0 High School Business Education Position, saving $103,000
• Eliminate 1.0 Elementary Teacher Position, saving $72,500
• Eliminate .50 Technology Integration Position, saving $30,000
• Eliminate High School Attendance Secretary Position, saving $34,000
• Eliminate Part-Time Instructional Secretary Position, saving $19,000
• Reduce Police Liaison Services, saving $25,000. This would result in the elimination of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Program.
• Increases athletic fees by $25 per sport, raising the fee to $100 per student, per sport.

Curiously, I couldn’t find any cuts to administrative staff or their salaries, but given the South Milwaukee school board’s past propensity for making cuts from the bottom up (rather than from the top down), I shouldn’t be surprised that once again teachers are squarely in the school board’s crosshairs.

South Milwaukee alderman Erik Brooks has his own take on this.

Tasty baked goods from Wild Flour and Nona’s. Fresh apple cider, honey and eggs. Two dozen local artists and crafters showing off their talents. Live music. Even a Chamber of Commerce business fair and space devoted to some local nonprofits. All in the really cool Bucyrus International Heritage Building.

And it’s free.

Welcome to the South Milwaukee Spring Market!

Join us this Saturday, April 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. inside the Heritage Building – on 10th Avenue, across from the South Milwaukee Library – for our first-ever Spring Market.

Consider it a preview of the summer event, which returns every Thursday afternoon and evening starting June 3 at 11th and Milwaukee Avenues. In fact, you’ll recognize some of our Spring Market vendors from the summer market … but we also have some great additions for this special event. But why not see for yourself on Saturday?

And while you’re there, why not stop by the Bucyrus Museum? This cool, and relatively unknown, museum is also located in the Heritage Building and open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the same hours as the market. Admission is free.

Learn more about the Spring Market in this press release and on our website at www.smdowntownmarket.org.

It’s been a pleasure to be a part of bringing this event and the summer market to life, and I look forward to seeing you there. Bring your family and friends!

While I don’t have video of all the comments, I did want to share two snippets of video I shot. First up is orchestra director Craig Kellenberger explaining how the orchestra program has been set up to fail by administrators in the South Milwaukee School District:

And next, music teacher Mary Beth Garrett continues to point out how decisions by district administrators have created a no-win situation for the orchestra program:

In moving to eliminate the fifth grade orchestra entirely, the school board noted district administration is working with the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and the South Milwaukee recreation department to create opportunities for students to be involved with orchestra outside of the school day, resulting in an additional cost to the students/families and not the district, because after all, parents will have plenty of extra money to spend on private music lessons for their child after they’ve paid their increased student and athletic fees!

However, perhaps the most galling of all the cuts (as if cutting opportunities for music education wasn’t galling enough), the school board is considering cutting at at-risk teaching position for students who are most at-risk of dropping out of school. In making the recommendation, district administration notes (emphasis mine), “recommendation will focus the at-risk staff to 9th and 10th grade students, increase the class size in the at-risk classes and reduce the number of sections available for the three areas from 24 to 12, thereby reducing the number of opportunities for at-risk students. This may result in less academic improvement for students as well as increased disciplinary issues.”

Hmm…..I wonder why that language sounds familiar. Oh wait, perhaps it’s because the district recommended cutting the exact same position last year, only to be met by a fierce outcry from parents, teachers, and students alike. It seems odd to me that the South Milwaukee school board clearly didn’t get the message from students, teachers, and parents last year, because they’re back to their old tricks, at the expense of the very students who need the district’s help the most. Hopefully this year’s round of budget cuts will be enough to spur some concerned parent to consider running for the school board next year, because South Milwaukee’s students could sure use someone on the school board that’s got their best interests at heart.

At the rate the South Milwaukee school board is going, they’ll keep cutting and cutting until they’ve cut straight down to the bone, and they’ll be left with a district full of students who’ve learned facts and figures and how to take standardized tests, but who weren’t given an opportunity to learn how to create and think.

Here’s a more extensive list of the cuts being proposed:

• Eliminate 1.0 Orchestra Position (eliminates 5th grade program)
• Increase Student Fees by $5
• Increase Athletic Fees by $25
• Eliminate Orchestra
• Eliminate 1.0 Vocal Music Position
• Reduce Secretary Time
• Eliminate 1.0 Paraprofessional Aide Position
• Eliminate 1.0 FTE HS Special Education Teacher Position
• Reduce .66 FTE HS Business Ed. Teacher Position
• Reduce .40 Elementary Guidance Counselor Position
• Eliminate 1.0 HS FCS Teacher Position
• Reduce 1.0 HS At-Risk Teacher Position
• Eliminate Golf

• The Cudahy Common Council tabled a proposed ordinance that would have tied Mayor Ryan McCue’s pay raises to the raises received by the city’s three largest employee unions. Under the proposal, McCue would have gotten a 3% pay raise for 2010.
• Wauwatosa School District Superintendent Phil Ertl has said if he could do it over again, he would have allowed students to view the live broadcast of President Obama’s speech to students last week. Ertl added, “(In) hindsight, I think I would have made a different decision on it,” Ertl said. “As I look at it, it is our president of our country and the opportunity for him to speak without disruption, I think, would have been a decision I could have made that would have been beneficial to everyone in our district.”
• There’s still no update on the negotiations between tenants of the Lake Bluff Apartments and the City of South Milwaukee. Sources tell me negotiations are ongoing, and that the situation could be resolved any day now.

Ultimately, the taxpayers of South Milwaukee are the real losers in all this, because it’s certainly a strong possibility that the city will be on the hook for not only their own legal expenses, but a significant portion of the legal expenses accumulated by the tenants as well. If the City of South Milwaukee does end up paying some (or all) of the legal bills for the tenants of Lake Bluff, that could mean many thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money flowing out of the city’s coffers.

Attorney Michele Ford, who represents the city, said in her closing argument that tenants at Lake Bluff were “pawns” being used by organizations pushing an agenda. She referred to a “secret theory of discrimination,” suggesting that allegations of racism were made in the lawsuit even though tenants didn’t feel they had suffered discrimination.

Ford also argued that no city could feel safe enforcing its zoning ordinances if the lawsuit is successful.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Larry DuPuis, noting that 34% of the roughly 200 Lake Bluff residents are minorities, said Lake Bluff is rare as a Milwaukee-area community that has racial diversity. “We should be celebrating it and encouraging more like it,” he said.

I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent living in the Lake Bluff Apartments, and I hope the jury finds in favor of the tenants of Lake Bluff, because it would be a shame to see South Milwaukee become less diverse than it already is.

The letter to Scott Walker from HUD was triggered after a complaint was filed with HUD by the American Civil Liberties Union and two other legal-aid organizations who are attempting to assist residents of the Lake Bluff Apartments, who feel they are the targets of racial discrimination. The same three organizations are also suing the City of South Milwaukee in federal court, alleging discrimination in housing. What’s important to note about the letter sent from HUD to Scott Walker is that the letter makes it clear all of Milwaukee County’s HUD funding would be jeopardized if the City of South Milwaukee is found to be acting in a discriminatory manner towards the residents of Lake Bluff. Milwaukee County administers the federal Community Development Block Grant program, and as a recipient of those grants, South Milwaukee has pledged that it would affirmatively further fair housing, so if South Milwaukee is found to be acting in a manner contrary to the intent of the Community Development Block Grants, Milwaukee County may very well lose all its HUD funding.

That would surely be a stiff price to pay, and it’s truly unfortunate that all the rest of Milwaukee County may end up suffering as a result of South Milwaukee’s unwillingness to find a settlement to this issue that satisfies all the parties involved. After 15+ years of lawsuits, appeals, and counter-suits, it seems to me this situation is less about South Milwaukee’s rights to enforce its zoning laws and has become more about officials in South Milwaukee being unwilling to reach any sort of compromise.

As an interesting (or ironic) side note, Chief Behling’s reinstatement comes as the federal racial discrimination trial involving South Milwaukee’s Lake Bluff Apartments gets underway in Milwaukee. At issue in that suit is whether or not the City of South Milwaukee is engaging in discrimination against the residents of Lake Bluff based on race, in violation of federal fair housing laws. The Lake Bluff apartment complex is home to a number of families of color, comprising a good percentage of the total number of minorities in South Milwaukee, whose residents are 99% white according to the most recent census data.