Virtue signaling?
Madison Teachers Inc. issued this statement this afternoon (06-07-2020):
We call for the removal of all school resource officers from the four comprehensive high schools with the caveat that this only occurs when all four high schools are properly staffed with counselors, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and mental health specialists according to the national American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recommended levels.
This is, essentially, the Freedom Inc. position. What would that “appropriate level of staffing” be? The teachers union says:
- East high: 1 more counselor, 1 more nurse, 1 more psychologist, 4 more social workers.
- LaFollette high: 1 more counselor, 1 more nurse, 1 more psychologist, 5 more social workers.
- Memorial high: 2 more counselors, 1 more nurse, 1 more psychologist, 5 more social workers.
- West high: 1 more counselor, 1 more nurse, 7 more social workers
That’s 33 new positions in a budget that anticipated reductions due to declining enrollment in exchange for lopping off the four SRO police. In the midst of an economic recession caused by the coronavirus lockdown. And almost certain reduced state aid. Figure the upside cost at something like $2.5 million/year.
Gov. Tony Evers says the state budget is looking at a $2 billion hit. Public schools make up about a third of the state’s budget, making it a likely target for at least some cuts if that budget shrinks. (More here.) MTI’s statement continues:
Restorative, restorative, restorative
In conjunction with the previous priority, MTI calls for more full-time social workers, nurses, psychologists, counselors, as well as a genuine and comprehensive implementation of restorative justice including staffing, training, and systems at all elementary, middle, and high schools.
In order to create restorative classrooms, we need to have restorative schools, supported by restorative relationships and restorative systems for decision making. And we must have people solely dedicated to this work within every building.
Madison school resource officers Justin Creech, West; Rod Johnson, La Follette; Zulma Franco, East; Tray Turner, Memorial H.S.
Even black teachers supported SROs
Historically, MTI has supported school resource officers in our four comprehensive high schools in order to create safe places for our students and staff. We have heard from our union members, including our Black members at the high school level, that school resource officers build strong relationships with students, provide a sense of safety and security for all people, and often take on more of the role of a social worker or counselor than that of a law enforcement officer.
We acknowledge and appreciate their partnership and commitment to our schools. However, it has become apparent from conversations with our children and community that the benefits of having police officers stationed inside our schools is outweighed by the racialized trauma experienced by some of our community members of color.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: [UPDATED 06-08-2020) Now thinking this announcement is more disingenuous virtue-signaling from MTI. They know cops protect student and teacher but they want to get in good with the bomb throwers. So they support banning cops only IF the school district meets unrealistic demands like hiring 33 expensive staffers in the midst of a recession.
Education
Blaska Policy Werkes 
The indefatigable Dr. Thomas Sowell:
“Politically, There Are Few Ideas More Potent Than The Notion That All Your Problems Are Caused By Other People And Their Unfairness To You.”
This is borne out exceptionally well in his seminal Seductive Beliefs I and Seductive Beliefs II.
The Gotch
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I do like that “racialized (sic) trauma” is inflicted by the presence of People of Color (all four SROs) in the schools. Maybe replace them with White SROs? The MTI members voted for their Union officers, same as Madison Police voted for the Union execs who endorsed Mayor Rainbow. Once again, jump in bed with ProgDane, be ready to be screwed.
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This is to laugh.
So goes the whole drift.
Caught hard in the grasp of knaves and fools.
My pity on the city.
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“Caught hard in the grasp of knaves and fools.”
Jeepers fritz, that casts a certain GLOOM over things, doesn’t it?
The Gotch
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So if the resource officers are gone and a kid brings a gun to school who ya gonna call, Ghost Busters?
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If I still lived in that God forsaken cesspool of liberalism. I might give a sh*t. But I don’t so I don’t.
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What do I think?
Anybody know a good realtor?
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That won’t even come close to the number of support staff that have been cut the past decade, while the number of needy kids has tripled.
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Yo George, The Gotch suspects these kids have parents; are those parents actually, you know, like, parenting?
Or is that the EVIL White Man’s burden…?
It Takes The Village, am I right?
The Gotch
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Better plan: Make welfare contingent on permanent birth control so the taxpayers aren’t forced to pay for turd polishers.
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Seems like Covid-19, to which by now I believe everyone has been exposed, was engineers to drive the American self-destructively MAD.
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Wussification is the theme. It is ubiquitous.
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toast with a meth jam
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1968 baby! Election in four months. Increasingly stupid Democrats until then.
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Just think that the Republican convention would have been like if it were held in Blue/Black/Prog Charlotte, NC?!
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MadXpat, I’m hopin’ we all vote as well. Stranger things have happened (“Dewey WINS!”).
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So they trade 4 cops that don’t pay union dues, for 33 staffers who do. Not bad. If I were the union chief, I’d want that too. Rank and File? Maybe not, but that has never stopped them before. Looks like Freedom Inc will get their way, and probably more funding too. Now if we can just empty the jails and cut the police budget by say 40%.things will be great!
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“So they trade 4 cops that don’t pay union dues, for 28 staffers who do.”
GREAT catch!
The Gotch
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Really doesn’t matter if MMSD hires 128 social safety net staffers because it’s just a band-aid approach to broken, fatherless, dysfunctional families from which the troubled students come and they will keep on coming until the out of wedlock birth rate is dramatically reduced. That however requires black leaders and their community to mobilize and demonstrate some agency and initiative instead of blaming whitey for everything.
Rev. Gee should consider putting some energy into that systemic problem instead of teaching white guilt. Leftys are being bamboozled and don’t even see it.
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Today I am thinking MTI is more virtue signaling. They have made the same calculus as the radicals but for a different reason. Teachers secretly don’t want the cops gone; they protect students and teachers. So they make an unrealistic demand and buy peace from the social justice warriors. It’s virtue signaling.
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True but they can never be virtuous enough. There are only so many babies to throw off the sled and the wolves are getting faster.
And where are Tammy Baldwin and Mark Pocan.
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Thought there might be a little sandbagging going on myself.
From everything The Gotch has read/heard, the SRO’s are wildly popular with students and staff.
Lefty? Barking up the wrong tree as usual, to no one’s surprise.
The irrepressible Walter E. Williams puts a finer point to it in his Blind To The Real Problems
The coup de grâce everlovin’ killshot:
White Liberals And The democrat Party Are The Major Beneficiaries Of Keeping Black People Fearful, Angry, Victimized And Resentful. IT’S CRUCIAL TO BOTH THEIR POLITICAL SUCCESS AND THEIR EFFORTS TO CHANGE THE NATION.
The Gotch
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The “Today Show” Lefties LUVED them some Safety Agents ~ 1 1/2 years ago.
New Program Creates Strong Bond Between Safety Agents (SROs) and Students
The Gotch
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My count is 33 new positions. I guess they wll cut teaching positions. We will have four mental health clinics, no high schools
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