Emily Files

As the current school year wraps up, Milwaukee Public Schools leaders are considering a range of scenarios for the fall. Whether students can safely go back to school remains uncertain due to the coronavirus.

If voters didn't approve a tax referendum for Milwaukee Public Schools in April, the district would have been in a dire situation. That’s according to researchers with the Wisconsin Policy Forum, which analyzes the MPS budget each year.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission is trying to set the stage for smooth elections in August and November after a chaotic experience in April.

The spring election and presidential primary saw a massive spike in absentee voting by mail. Many people didn’t want to cast ballots in person due to the coronavirus.

Milwaukee Public Schools fielded criticism over the last couple of months about the district’s slower shift to online learning as students stay home to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Between March 16 and April 20, teachers were not required to engage students in remote instruction. Even when the district told teachers to start supporting students’ learning from home, the expectations about what that should look like were unclear.

The first semester of college under COVID-19 is over, and now schools have the difficult task of planning for the future. College leaders are deciding whether the benefits of holding in-person classes outweigh the risks of coronavirus exposure.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone says he will announce plans for the fall semester in June. Beyond the question of reopening campus, UWM is facing a projected $50 million to $100 million deficit by the end of the next school year.

Wisconsin now has a patchwork of local restrictions on businesses and gatherings after Gov. Tony Evers’ safer-at-home order was thrown out by the state Supreme Court late Wednesday.

In a 4-3 decision, the justices sided with Republican lawmakers and said Evers’ Health Secretary-designee Andrea Palm did not have the authority to extend the safer-at-home rules until May 26. The court lifted the restrictions meant to curb the spread of COVID-19.

This year’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) was supposed to bring thousands of visitors to Milwaukee in July. But the coronavirus pandemic has pushed the event back a month – and raised questions about what the gathering will actually look like.

Coronavirus-related school closures present some unique challenges to vocational education because hands-on learning isn’t possible right now. Even though their last few months of training were cut short, a Brown Deer teacher is working with his high school seniors to arrange job placements in the construction field.

>>Latest WUWM & NPR Coronavirus Coverage

As Milwaukee Public Schools begins its budget process, it’s facing an uncertain future but some reassurance from a recently approved tax referendum. Superintendent Keith Posley wants to spend about half of the referendum revenue on employee salaries and benefits, and use much of the rest to add 229 new positions.

MPS’s total budget is about $1.2 billion. The referendum will increase funding by $57 million next school year, gradually growing to $87 million in 2023.

School closures triggered by the coronavirus are especially hard on students with disabilities and their families. These students often get one-on-one help at school, along with services like speech and physical therapy. In March, students and families suddenly lost all of that support. 

“Our new normal is barely coping,” said John Berges, whose son Theo is a special needs student at Shorewood High School. Berges sent WUWM a voice memo describing his family’s experience. 

The COVID-19 crisis could significantly deplete state resources in Wisconsin. Gov. Tony Evers says the state could lose more than $2 billion over the next year because tax collections are expected to drop and demand for state services like Medicaid is expected to increase.

>>Latest WUWM & NPR Coronavirus Coverage

There are 187 COVID-19 outbreaks at facilities across Wisconsin, including nursing homes, workplaces and health care locations.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services released the new outbreak information in an online dashboard on Wednesday. DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm said the dashboard is meant to provide a more complete picture of Wisconsin’s coronavirus numbers.

Wisconsin’s largest school district, Milwaukee Public Schools, is facing criticism from some teachers and families for its handling of distance education during the coronavirus shutdown. MPS has provided paper packets and links to educational websites. But it’s been slower than many other districts to distribute computers and implement teacher-led remote instruction.

Updated Thursday at 11:49 a.m. CT

Republican leaders of the Wisconsin Legislature asked the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday to block an order from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' administration extending the safer-at-home order until May 26.