Humphries touts plan to improve low-performing schools

Parents would select operators to take them over

Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate John Humphries announced a proposal Thursday that would allow failing low-income public schools to be turned over to outside operators, resurrecting an idea that failed to gain traction during the 2015-’16 legislative session.

Under the plan, announced at a central-city Milwaukee coffee shop, the state would issue requests for proposals inviting high-performing “school teams” from traditional public, charter and voucher schools to submit proposals for operating the schools. Parents would then select the operator. He offered no details about how that would work, but said the voting parents could opt to make no change.

Humphries also said he would boost taxpayer funding for voucher and charter schools to the level received by traditional public schools. He argued that incumbent Tony Evers has failed to raise academic performance at failing schools despite years of efforts.

“The status quo from DPI is not only unacceptable, it’s an immoral failure to reform schools right here in Milwaukee,” he said.

Evers called the plan the “John Humphries bad idea of the week,” a reference to his opponent’s strategy of rolling out his platform, piece-by-piece, for maximum media exposure.

“It’s old school,” Evers said of the RFP idea. “It’s (Assembly Bill) 1 that was introduced by Republicans in the last biennium. And it went down in flames . ... It hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been used across the country.”

Schools would be selected based on a new report card proposal Humphries announced last week, and it would only affect those that receive Title I funds for low-income students. His spokesman said he did not know if it would affect schools outside Milwaukee.

The plan would likely draw vocal opposition from public school advocates, many of whom came out in force last year against a new law that gives the Milwaukee County executive the authority to appoint a commissioner to take control of poorly performing Milwaukee Public Schools.

Humphries made the announcement at Coffee Makes You Black, a popular gathering place in Milwaukee’s central city, with two supporters — both presidents of local charter schools — on hand.

Two patrons, including Milwaukee organizer Andre Lee Ellis, questioned Humphries on a number of points, including whether he’d engaged Milwaukee stakeholders — Milwaukee Public Schools officials, parents and the local teachers union, for example — in development of the plan.

“My concern is what’s the long-term effect on the community,” Annika Leonard, who works with MPS students through a contract with the district, said afterward. “Is this community-driven or did it come from suburban Wisconsin?”

Mark Sain, president of the Milwaukee school board, who did not attend the announcement, said he would prefer to see Humphries work with MPS on its efforts to improve its schools.

“A better plan would be to sit down with the district and talk about how we could work collectively.”