Milwaukee Board of School Directors set to make final vote on return plan, teachers union not yet on board

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Board of School Directors held their final meeting Tuesday, March 16, before their coming vote to determine a return of MPS students to the classroom.

MBSD President Larry Miller says he believes all Milwaukee teachers will be vaccinated by early April.

Combined with CDC research on reopening and safety improvements made by MPS, he said students should be back in the classroom in April.

“I’m going to be asking the board and pushing the board to -- we have to move forward,” Miller said.

The Milwaukee Teachers Education Association said the union wants a more comprehensive plan from MPS on issues such as transportation and what the classroom will actually look like.

“We also have real concerns about air quality and number of air exchanges in classrooms, and we also have real concerns about whether the windows in classrooms are operational,” MTEA President Amy Mizialko said.

The first of three student return waves begins April 12. The board is surveying MPS parents on whether they want their children to return, and said there will be safe options either way.

"If a family decides they want to stay remote for the rest of the school year, we will agree to that," Miller said. "If they want to send their kids back to school, we will agree to that.”

As Governor Tony Evers and Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) suggested, MPS plans to increase their classes during the summer in response to missed time from the pandemic.

“A debate can go on about learning lost, but the time lost is real, so I want to do everything I can as a school board member to make that up,” Miller said.

Miller said there is no firm alternative plan if the April return fails to pass during next week’s vote.