Schools and Communities United
Press Release

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.

By - Jul 27th, 2016 07:59 pm

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.

Mentioned in This Press Release

Neighborhoods: ,

Recent Press Releases by Schools and Communities United

Schools and Communities United

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.

One thought on “Community Opposes OSPP Forced Sale of Vacant MPS Building to Military-Style Voucher School Under Pending FBI Investigation for Abuse”

  1. Vincent Hanna says:

    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?

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us