The Milwaukee Public School Board last week unanimously agreed to reduce massive busing in the school district. However, it did not set a timetable for doing so.
We ask, why?
Why not set a timetable to get the majority of MPS students off buses and into neighborhood schools?
Why should the school board be allowed to "drag out" a process that should be relatively simple and the planning of which should start immediately?
After all, MPS Board Director Michael Bonds, who introduced the busing reduction proposal, outlined for citizens the week before the board’s meeting a straight forward plan to allow students to go to schools close to home.
Bond’s plan would require the reopening of some MPS schools that have been closed for over a year as a result of the district’s retraction and restructuring due to a drop in the number of children attending district schools.
More importantly, Bonds’ proposal would garner a savings for the district of $20 million, which could be used to restore discontinued programs such as music and drivers education.
What was once a necessary method to integrate Milwaukee’s public schools and foster equality, busing is no longer necessary or fiscally sound.
The district is now 80% minority. Busing costs the district $60 million a year with a projected increase of $80 million in the next two years.
And though the burden of busing in the mid-’70s was placed on the shoulders of Black children, it still didn’t stop the "White Flight" that occurred from the district, defeating any effort towards "equality."
Some parents in the community have expressed opposition to the proposal, saying they want their child to take the bus for safety reasons, noting the dangers of allowing their children to walk to school.
Parents, in our opinion, are the ones who can guarantee their children’s safety walking to school by uniting and taking back their neighborhood streets from violence and drugs.
Plus, students attending citywide high schools like Rufus King won’t be affected by Bonds’ proposal.
We urge the board to reconsider their decision and set a firm, yet doable timetable to reduce busing and save millions of dollars that can be put back into the schools to improve the quality of education for our children.
