Community Opposes OSPP Forced Sale of Vacant MPS Building to Military-Style Voucher School Under Pending FBI Investigation for Abuse
The forced sale of the former MPS property at 500 E. Center St. falls under a section of the Opportunity Schools Partnership Program that was included in the 2015-2017 budget.
Milwaukee – (July 27, 2016) – Schools and Communities United, a coalition of community, labor, student and civic organizations in Milwaukee is standing together with our Riverwest and Harambee neighbors in their fight against a proposal that would force the sale of a vacant Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) building to Right Step Inc. at the Milwaukee Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA) committee on Thursday, July 28. BOZA will be taking up a contract with Right Step Military School in what could be the first vacant city property forcibly transferred under the Opportunity Schools Partnership Program to a private operator.
Milwaukee parents and neighbors plan to express concerns about the safety and welfare of students that would attend this all-male military-based voucher school, among them a pending FBI investigation for abuse, how the sale would affect the surrounding properties, and parking concerns that would lead to unsafe pedestrian and traffic patterns.
Who: Schools and Communities United, neighbors from Riverwest and Harambee
Where: The Milwaukee Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA) committee at Milwaukee City Hall, Room 301A
When: Thursday, July 28 at 4:30 p.m.
What: Community members testify against the forced sale of a vacant MPS building to an all-male, military-based voucher school under pending FBI investigation for abuse.
Background
The forced sale of the former MPS property at 500 E. Center St. falls under a section of the Opportunity Schools Partnership Program that was included in the 2015-2017 budget. The state law forces the City of Milwaukee to sell vacant MPS buildings without a thorough democratic political process.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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Based on what conservative media outlets have been saying for a long time, I always thought it was liberals who love frivolous lawsuits, but WILL is the most sue-happy group I’ve ever seen. I get that they support OSPP and school choice, but why are they fighting so hard for a school that’s under investigation for abuse and has absolutely atrocious academic performance?