MILWAUKEE, WI - Milwaukee Police Association (MPA) President Alexander Ayala has said that School Resource Officers (SROs) should return to Milwaukee schools citing data showing that Milwaukee police were summoned to respond to the city's public schools no less than 3,141 times during the last school year.
According to WISN, a Wisconsin state law enacted in 2023 required that SROs be reinstated by January 2024, but this still hasn't occurred. Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan told reporters Tuesday, "Obviously, this is something that we hadn't planned on having to do, but when we were told we'll have to do it, we will do it. And the board is on track with that as well."
Wisconsin's Act 12, or "Shared Revenue Law," set by statute says that Milwaukee Public Schools need to have 25 officers. However, Glavan told WISN that he has no timetable from the district to make it happen.
As the outlet observed, the school district's contract for SROs with the MPD was terminated in 2020 and the district is now nine months delinquent in reinstating them. Democrat Governor Tony Evers dismissively suggested, "I don’t think there is anybody fighting that issue. It’s just a matter some logistics."
Galvan said, "Our intention is to make sure that we comply because it’s the right thing to do. It’s a matter of we have to work with the police department, and we have to settle those things."
Ayala saw things differently when speaking with WISN's Kendall Keys. When asked if the school district is handling the matter urgently, Ayala said, "Well, no, they're not. I mean, it's like eight months later, nine months later, and Act 12 got implemented at the beginning of the year, and that was part of the deal that they needed to have school resource officers. And they're obviously just violating the law. They're not doing it."
He concluded, "Multiple times a day they're getting taken out from other parts of the neighborhoods that are having other issues and then getting rerouted to go to all these schools. But if we had school officers already in place, those school resource officers could be going to these calls instead of pulling from other districts or the districts that have limited staffing."
According to WISN, a Wisconsin state law enacted in 2023 required that SROs be reinstated by January 2024, but this still hasn't occurred. Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan told reporters Tuesday, "Obviously, this is something that we hadn't planned on having to do, but when we were told we'll have to do it, we will do it. And the board is on track with that as well."
Wisconsin's Act 12, or "Shared Revenue Law," set by statute says that Milwaukee Public Schools need to have 25 officers. However, Glavan told WISN that he has no timetable from the district to make it happen.
"I don't have a firm timeline. What I can tell you is that we are working towards that and will continue to meet with the police department on that," Galvan said.
As the outlet observed, the school district's contract for SROs with the MPD was terminated in 2020 and the district is now nine months delinquent in reinstating them. Democrat Governor Tony Evers dismissively suggested, "I don’t think there is anybody fighting that issue. It’s just a matter some logistics."
Galvan said, "Our intention is to make sure that we comply because it’s the right thing to do. It’s a matter of we have to work with the police department, and we have to settle those things."
Ayala saw things differently when speaking with WISN's Kendall Keys. When asked if the school district is handling the matter urgently, Ayala said, "Well, no, they're not. I mean, it's like eight months later, nine months later, and Act 12 got implemented at the beginning of the year, and that was part of the deal that they needed to have school resource officers. And they're obviously just violating the law. They're not doing it."
He concluded, "Multiple times a day they're getting taken out from other parts of the neighborhoods that are having other issues and then getting rerouted to go to all these schools. But if we had school officers already in place, those school resource officers could be going to these calls instead of pulling from other districts or the districts that have limited staffing."
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