Latest MPS SRO Offer: Schools Want to Pay 33% of Costs

MPS Still Lacking School Resource Officers

Just days before Milwaukee Public Schools will have to answer to a judge as to why school resource officers are not back in their buildings, the city’s school district is offering to pay some of the costs.

MPS board member Missy Zombor on Tuesday night told reporters that the district is willing to pay 33% of the costs to bring 25 school resource officers back into MPS buildings.

The school district has said for months that it is not responsible for hiring, training, or paying police officers in the city of Milwaukee.

"[As part of] the shared revenue sales tax deal, the city was the recipient of over $200 million. MPS was not a recipient of that money," Zombor explained.

That shared revenue deal came with a state mandated requirement for MPS to return officers to its buildings by January 1, 2024. Those officers are still not there.

A judge last month gave MPS til February 17 to come up with a plan to follow the SRO requirement.

It’s unclear if the 33% offer will satisfy the judge’s order.

It’s also unclear if MPS’ 33% offer will be enough.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s office on Wednesday expressed its frustration that Zombor shared the details with reporters.

“MPS agreed to maintain confidentiality about the status and terms each side proposed,” mayoral spokesman Jeff Fleming said in a statement. “It is highly disappointing MPS has broken that promise.”

Fleming said the city agreed to a mediation process to hammer out a deal, and added the city “continues to act in good faith” on the negotiations.

Zombor, too, said Milwaukee Public Schools "remain committed to continuing the conversation to come to a resolution," but she did not say if that means more mediation.

MPS has said it will cost between $1 million and $2 million a-year to return the officers to their school buildings.

Milwaukee Public Schools ended their contract with the city’s police department in 2020, during the height of the George Floyd reaction.

School leaders have said in the past that it is dangerous, or sends the wrong message to have officers inside school buildings.

But there are often police officers at Milwaukee Public Schools buildings, even without an official SRO agreement.

The Badger Institute reported back in 2023, that MPD officers were called to MPS schools an average of nearly eight times per day.

MPS is facing a lawsuit from a student’s mother over the lack of permanent police officers. That lawsuit led to the judge’s order, and next week’s deadline for an SRO return plan.