MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — On Friday, the Milwaukee Common Council adopted the city budget.
One thing wasn’t on it: funding for school resources officers for Milwaukee Public Schools.
“The schools need it, the kids need it. The kids want it. The teachers want it, even the safety resource officers that are there, they want it,” said Charlene Abughrin, plaintiff and MPS parent.
Abughrin filed a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty in October, nearly ten months after the state mandated that MPS put SROs back in district schools.
“Everybody is concerned about their safety working at MPS, and the fact that the school board, the administrators, are ignoring it, their employees, the kids that they're there to serve is sad,” said Abughrin.
Watch: Milwaukee Common Council adopts budget, no mention of funding for SROs
Her attorney, Lauren Greuel, says the passing of the city budget should have no bearing on MPS following the law.
“As much as I understand that people would be frustrated with the city for not addressing it, from not making commentary on it, it's ultimately not their job to figure out the school resource officer issue,” said Lauren Greuel, Associate Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.
Greuel says the district has a duty to fulfill the basic needs of its students and they plan to hold them accountable to make sure they do it.
“It's not about resources at this point. It's about the fact that MPS is really trying not to follow the law in the name of social justice,” said Greuel.
TMJ4 reached out to the Mayor’s office, who said the budget included maximum possible number of police officers, so there was no need to specifically cite the SROs.
We also reached out to the school district for comment and are waiting to hear back.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
