New crime reporting rules threaten MPS resources, school officials warn

By Devin Blake

This story was originally published by the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find more stories about fifteen Milwaukee neighborhoods. Visit milwaukeenns.org.

Starting this fall, a new law will require Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) to collect and report crime and incident data.

However, some members of the Milwaukee School Board expressed concern about the potentially high costs associated with this requirement.

This requirement is enshrined in Law No. 12 of 2023. This law came into force last summer and, among other things, makes changes to the financing of local authorities.

Act 12 requires public schools and other types of schools throughout the state to report crimes and incidents annually to their school board or governing body.

These institutions must provide the information to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), which must include the data in its school and district report cards.

Reportable crimes and incidents include violent crimes such as murder, sexual assault and assault, as well as disturbing the peace, arson and possession of alcohol or controlled substances.

Local and national concerns

School boards are not alone in their concerns about what this type of data reporting would mean for schools.

For example, in October 2021, the DPI filed a written response to Senate Bill 585, which proposed a crime reporting system similar to that now required by Bill 12.

That statement said such a system would require changes to the data collection system used between the state and school districts and would require “extensive collection efforts between local law enforcement and districts.”

Dan Rossmiller, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB), believes the crime reporting system required by Act 12 will most likely be time-consuming and complex and could impose significant costs on both schools and law enforcement, especially for schools in large urban areas.

WASB is a nonprofit organization that advocates for and supports the interests of local school boards.

“There are simpler and likely more reliable ways to collect and report this data than relying on school personnel who are not trained in the intricacies of criminal law or municipal ordinances,” Rossmiller said in an email to NNS.

“Despite our numerous attempts to persuade lawmakers, they insisted on requiring school personnel … to make these determinations and to collect and report this information,” he said.

Such decisions would only increase the burden on school staff given the already difficult staffing situation, Rossmiller added.

Concerns about the budget remain

Megan O'Halloran, school board president of District 8, is also concerned about the financial burdens associated with Act 12.

O'Halloran said creating a data reporting system is one of several additional costs associated with Act 12 for which there is no additional funding.

“Of course I have ideas about what I would like to fund instead. But at this point we are fighting for the survival of our programs,” O'Halloran said.

Such budget concerns persist, despite the recently passed referendum allocating $252 million to MPS, says Erika Siemsen, District 2 school board president.

“This referendum will still force us to make some cuts this year, and as long as the structure of school funding does not change, there will continue to be budget concerns,” Siemsen said.

Siemsen said she would much prefer to see “time, money and energy invested in supporting and expanding our programs that are restorative and proactive and in line with the wishes of our students…”.

Impact on students

Amber West is an organizer with Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), which has been advocating for years for MPS to defund the Milwaukee Police Department. LIT is a nonprofit organization led by youth of color.

West fears that further unanswered questions about Act 12's data requirements will inevitably lead to further harm.

In particular, the definition of “incident” in Act 12 is vague and unclear, she said. Schools would then be required to report frequent, non-violent student disruptions to law enforcement.

She said such measures “will not increase the safety of Milwaukee students, but will rather expose them to harmful and excessive disciplinary actions on campus and lead to the unjust criminalization of youth,” West said.

“Our children are too important”

Lawmakers who supported the original bill said the crime reporting requirement contained in Act 12 was simply about student safety.

Republican Rep. Jerry O'Connor of Fond du Lac acknowledged that there has been “resistance from some school districts” about the cost and difficulty of collecting data. But, he said, “our children are too important for school administrators to undermine this law.”

“Crime and violence in schools must be identified, measured, communicated and combatted,” O'Connor added.

Republican state Rep. Amanda Nedweski of Pleasant Prairie said the law directs the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to issue rules and guidelines on the new requirement.

Any concerns school districts have about compliance with the law should be addressed by the DPI as part of this rulemaking process, Nedweski said.

DPI did not provide precise information on how much it would cost to set up such a data system on site, and only estimated that there would be an increase in costs.

Abigail Swetz, DPI communications director, told NNS that decisions about a school's safety strategies should be made by locally elected school boards.

“It is unfortunate that partisan politics have been brought into what should be a local, non-partisan process that also takes into account the concerns of the public, especially those of students and their families,” Swetz said.

Stephen Davis, media manager at MPS, emphasized MPS's intention to focus on collaboration throughout the process.

Davis told NNS that MPS continues to consult with stakeholders, including student groups, the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association (MTEA), the Administrators and Supervisors Council, district staff, community members and MPD.

Devin Blake is a justice reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. His position is funded by the Public Welfare Foundation, which has no role in editorial decisions on the NNS newsroom.