MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee County Judge has extended the deadline for Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) to install at least 25 School Resource Officers (SROs) at designated schools across the city by Feb. 27th, 2025.
Attorneys for MPS and the City of Milwuakee appeared in court today — February 17, 2025 — which is when SROs were previously designated to be required in schools in accordance with a lawsuit from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty on behalf of an MPS parent.
Originally, this order was meant to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, as per Act 12 of the city’s shared revenue bill.
Milwaukee County Court Judge David Borowski also ruled that the cost of the SROs will be shared at an even 50/50 split between Milwaukee Public Schools and the City of Milwaukee.
“I’m putting an end today to the debate over finances,” said Judge Borowski. “They [the legislature and governor] left a huge gap in this law by not just saying what the apportionment should be.”
SROs in Wisconsin are required by law to complete a 40-hour course sponsored by the National Association of School Resource Officers. Judge Borowski said this should not impact the Feb. 27 deadline.
“I’m not going to give MPS another out, another excuse to say now they need another month to find the officers and do the training. They can have the training be ongoing as they’re in the schools.”
WTMJ learned that no Milwaukee Police officer has received School Resource Officer training since August 2023. Click here to read our full report.
MPS issed the following statement Monday evening:
“Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) remains ready to implement a School Resource Officer (SRO) program as soon as officers are made available to the district. MPS anticipates the arrival of School Resource Officers within ten days as ordered by the court. As the judge noted there was a gap in the law related to the apportionment of funding, which the judge addressed today. In accordance with the judge’s ruling, MPS will request Board action to allocate the necessary funds to cover 50% of the city’s $1,591,959 cost, totaling $795,979, and to share the SRO training expenses equally. ”
The next court date is set for Feb. 27, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. CST in downtown Milwaukee.
If either MPS or the City of Milwaukee fails to comply with the order, Judge Borowski said he would order “sanctions, contempt of court and the allocation of all actual costs to the plaintiff’s attorney and to the plaintiff.”
Milwaukee Public Schools issued the following statement on Monday morning, before the scheduled court appearance:
“Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has continued to work with the City of Milwaukee to find a way forward in getting a School Resource Officer (SRO) program in place as quickly as possible. On January 23, the Court ordered the City to work with the district towards a resolution, recognizing the City’s key role in making it happen.
