WEST BEND, Wis. — As bidding over UW Milwaukee Washington County's building ramps up, parents have started a petition asking a task force not to accept a charter school's proposal.
Kristina Mueller and Molly Morgan started the petition and said more than 500 community members have signed. The petition states that they do not want Accel Schools charter program to take over the old campus—which closed in June.
Watch: Parents don't want charter school on old UWM Washington County campus:
“What inspired us to reach out to you would be that as taxpayers, we should have a say as to where our money goes," Mueller said. "I’m not very pleased with how they’re pushing this through so quickly. I wish they would pump the brakes a little bit and do their due diligence and listen to the community members.”
Mueller's child goes to public school in Slinger.
“By opening a for profit charter school," she said. "Now we’re taking money away from public schools that are already struggling with the amount of money that they already received.”
Morgan plans to send her child to public school in West Bend.
“Our concern is that bringing in a for-profit charter school will be a detriment to our community," she said. “We appreciate their concern to fiscal responsibility. That is important, but it can’t be at the expense of our children. We need to find a solution that also keeps them in mind.”
She is worried about academic performance and said online research showed her that the Accel School's academic performance in Ohio is not what she'd like to see.
Morgan also said she understands Washington County's University Campus Task has a tough job.
“We appreciate their concern to fiscal responsibility," she said. "That is important, but it can’t be at the expense of our children. We need to find a solution that also keeps them in mind.”
County treasurer Scott Henke is the task force chair and said they are looking into other options, but the charter school pitched the best financial plan compared to the others.
“Nothing is a done deal other than the building is sitting vacant and costing tax payers a lot of money," he said. “It’s not about picking winners and losers. It’s about picking what’s best for that building and for that 90 acres that it sits on.”
Morgan and Mueller put out the petition in the hopes more people would pay attention to the selection process.
Other options include a public school facility, senior care, a theater group and a technical college hub.
“I don’t think there’s a middle ground to find here. This is not a good fit for Washington County," Mueller said. “There are many other options we could be exploring besides Accel Charter Schools.”
TMJ4 News called and emailed Accel Schools for comment, but they have not responded yet.
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