Parents and teachers held a rally on Wednesday evening in Milwaukee, stepping up their efforts to stop a Republican plan that could turn some low-performing public schools in the city into private voucher schools or public charter schools.
About 200 people briefly formed a human chain outside Auer Avenue School in Milwaukee. The parents, children and teachers symbolized efforts to block a state budget provision inserted by suburban Milwaukee Republicans.
The item would allow the Milwaukee County executive to appoint a commissioner who could fire all the employees at three low-performing schools each year and have voucher or charter managers take over.
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Ebony Butler, the mother of five kids at Auer, said she’s happy with the school. “You have great teachers. I mean they’re just excellent, and they work well with the kids,” she said.
Republicans say Auer school is doing a poor job of teaching reading.
More protests are planned against the GOP proposal if it stays in the state budget.
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