MILWAUKEE — Reckless driving, shots fired and threats.
Those are just some of the ways Milwaukee Marshall High School made headlines over the past week. A parent TMJ4 News spoke with said they need Milwaukee Public Schools to act now before they pull their children from the district.
Wednesday saw an orderly departure after a half-day of classes at Milwaukee Marshall High School. It marked a far cry from last week when cars drove over the grass, nearly hitting students.
MORE COVERAGE:
- Reckless drivers nearly hit pedestrians on Milwaukee school lawn, officials cracking down
- Gunshot fired from vehicle, threats made from student at Marshall High School: Police
"We need the police to be up here and active because this is unnecessary,” said parent Kristen Melendez.
This week, Milwaukee Police said officers responded to two incidents within 14 minutes of each other.
"They were shooting them off in the air while it was time for these kids to be dismissed out of school,” Melendez recounted.
Melendez says she's considering pulling her freshman son from the school and the entire district if things don’t improve.
"I don't want to take him out of MPS, but I will take him out if it comes down to it,” she said.
Superintendent Dr. Keith Posley said in addition to the barriers outside Marshall, they're also reducing the amount of time students spend outside the building.
"We have staggered our dismissals to make sure we don't have a lot of students on the campus at any given time,” Posley noted.
Although MPS terminated its contract last year with the Milwaukee Police Department, Posley said the district is working with police on an as-needed basis.
"Our goal is working with the staff that we have and working with the different agencies and groups that we're working with,” Posley said.
Melendez said she’s hoping the district finds a way to get things under control as the year goes on.
"They gonna wait until one of these kids gets hurt? They gonna wait until one of these kids get run over? They gonna wait until one of the kids gets shot? They need to do something,” she said.
TMJ4 News received this response from Milwaukee Police:
"MPD does not have a contract or agreement with MPS. At the request of MPS, the Milwaukee Police Department continues to work with Marshall School security to monitor and address the reckless behavior. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at (414) 935-7272 or Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-TIPS or P3 Tips App to remain anonymous."
