Number
081658
Version
SUBSTITUTE 1
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. WITKOWIAK
Title
Substitute resolution directing the Intergovernmental Relations Division-Department of Administration to seek introduction and passage of state legislation to allow for the election of Milwaukee Area Technical College district board members by district residents.
Analysis
This resolution directs the Intergovernmental Relations Division-Department of Administration to seek introduction and passage of state legislation to allow for the election of Milwaukee Area Technical College district board members by district residents.
Body
Whereas, Chapter 38 of the Wisconsin Statutes, Technical College System, delineates operation of the 16 technical college districts in the state; and
Whereas, Each of these technical college districts is administered by a 9-member district board consisting of one elected official, one school district administrator, 2 employers, 2 employees, and 3 additional members, each of whom must be a resident of the district; and
Whereas, District board members have duties and powers including management of district funds, employment of both teaching and non-teaching personnel, preparation of an annual budget, the purchase, lease and sale of buildings and equipment, and authority to enter into outside contracts for district services; and
Whereas, Based on these broad financial responsibilities, a technical college district board is given authority to issue bonds or promissory notes and may also levy a tax, annually, on the full value of the taxable property within the district; and
Whereas, District board members in each of the 16 technical college districts are appointed by an Appointment Committee, whose makeup depends on the governing body - school districts, municipalities or counties - that initially petitioned for the creation of the technical college district, with the committee member from the appropriate governmental unit with the largest population in the technical college district serving as committee chair; and
Whereas, An Appointment Committee in a technical college district encompassing a first class city additionally includes 4 members designated by the board of school directors of the first class city; and
Whereas, The 25-member Milwaukee Area Technical College ("MATC") District Board Appointment Committee, therefore, is comprised of the 21 school board presidents whose school districts lie within the MATC district boundaries along with 4 additional members designated by the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, and is chaired by the president of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors; and
Whereas, The MATC district is the largest technical college district in Wisconsin in terms of student population, staff and operating budget; and
Whereas, While the mission and purpose of a technical college includes providing services to all members of the public, MATC district board members are chosen by an Appointment Committee whose relatively homogenous makeup is noteworthy for its Milwaukee Public School Board influence; and
Whereas, The selected 9-member MATC district board does not consist of a broad cross-section of district employers, employees and residents as intended, but rather individuals with interests consistent with those of the Appointment Committee, violating the spirit if not the letter of state statutes; and
Whereas, It is in the best interest of all district residents that MATC serves as a vehicle for persons to acquire the education, occupational skills and training necessary to be a productive member of southeastern Wisconsin's workforce; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the Common Council directs the Intergovernmental Relations Division-Department of Administration to seek introduction and passage of state legislation to allow for the election of Milwaukee Area Technical College district board members by district residents.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB09127-2
MST
03/31/09