In the Milwaukee Public School (MPS) system, fully one-third of students fail to complete high school. With such dismal numbers, one would expect the focus of MPS leaders to be on education. Instead, they’re focused on political power and elections. While this focus is ill-conceived and harmful, it’s also likely illegal.
This week, Milwaukee radio talk show host Dan O’Donnell broke the story detailing how MPS officials are advancing a scheme to use taxpayer-funded resources to help left-wing groups conduct targeted voter registration efforts inside Milwaukee’s public schools. Instead of using resources to promote academic achievement, resources are being used to promote a get-out-the-vote scheme to benefit the left. While Milwaukee is the first city where this scheme has been uncovered, it certainly won’t be the last.
According to district records obtained by O’Donnell, MPS has ordered its administrators to “generate a list of students who are 18 and who will be eligible to register for and vote” in the April 4, 2023 election — the election that will decide the ideological balance of the state Supreme Court, likely affecting policies like school choice, voter ID requirements, right to work, government union collective bargaining, and many other issues. District staff members are also encouraged to connect with the League of Women Voters — a group long aligned with the left — to set up voter registration events to target Milwaukee students. Clearly, this effort is aimed at benefiting the left at the expense of taxpayers and student privacy. And it
