MILWAUKEE — Yet another deadline to get school resource officers (SROs) in Milwaukee Schools will be missed.
A judge ordered the officers to be in schools by Thursday, Feb. 27, but according to documents filed by the city Tuesday night, they say that mandate is not legally possible.
In a letter to the judge, City Attorney Evan Goyke said the job listing for SROs has been posted, and once new officers are hired, they must be trained by the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) before they can work with students.
The city and MPS board are working to pass a memorandum of understanding that 25 officers will be in place as soon as legally possible.
The Common Council will begin the process of voting on the memorandum of understanding between the city and the school board at special meeting on Feb. 28, and on March 3, applications will close for new officers.
Police have not been stationed inside MPS buildings since 2016. Then, in 2020, after years of student activism, the district ended its contract with the Milwaukee Police Department. In 2023, a state law that allowed Milwaukee to implement a sales tax mandated MPS put officers back in schools.
That was supposed to happen by January 2024.
WATCH: City of Milwaukee asks judge to delay school resource officer deadline
People TMJ4 spoke to Wednesday had mixed feelings about officers in schools.
“It gives me a little extra sense of security, not a lot, knowing that someone is there with them,” Latoya McMillian, an MPS parent, explained.
Jarvis Harris, who is an MPS parent of elementary school children, thinks it's a good idea.
"Having resource officers rotate different schools, I think that’ll give parents a little more security, it’ll give teachers a little more security, and it gives me peace of mind knowing there’s somebody in the school that could defend my kid if something happens."
Meanwhile, Cathy Wanzo, a substitute teacher at MPS, is not on board.
“I think MPS has other uses for those funds, better uses for their money,” Wanzo said.
Ricardo Fernandez, another MPS Parent, just wants to see the issue resolved.
"Let’s get it figured out now," Fernandez said."I just hope that they can get to some kind of resolution sooner than later. I mean it’s for the benefit of kids ultimately."
The city and MPS board will be back in front of a judge Thursday morning. That’s when we will likely learn if this new delay will hold up in court.
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