The Milwaukee Public School Board will vote on the future of Carmen Northwest at its meeting on Thursday.
The Milwaukee Public School (MPS) Board will make a decision on Thursday (Nov. 20) that will impact the futures of more than 500 of our city’s children.
The board will vote on whether to extend its charter school contract with Carmen Northwest – operated by Carmen Schools of Science & Technology, which has a network of schools within Milwaukee. The campus serves 6th– through 12th-grade students on the city’s northwest side. If the board decides against extending the contract, the school could shutter and place the education of these students in question.
“Options are critical for families when it comes to matters of their children’s education. Nowhere in our city is that more important than on the northwest side,” said Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) President and CEO Dale Kooyenga. “Carmen Northwest is providing that education on par or better than its peers while catering to a student base almost entirely considered economically disadvantaged. The need for a school like Carmen Northwest is imperative to the families it serves.”
In addition to educational considerations, the shuttering of Carmen Northwest would cost MPS and its taxpayers economically.
“MPS not only receives per-pupil funding for each student at Carmen Northwest, the school provides a significant amount of money to the district and its taxpayers through lease revenue,” said Kooyenga. “MPS has an obligation to be prudent with taxpayer funding. Another empty building would fail to serve that purpose.”
Founded in 2013, the school has forged a reputation of graduating nearly all of its students, with most accepted into a post-secondary program. In 2024, Carmen Northwest graduated 99 percent of its seniors and enjoyed a 98 percent college acceptance rate.
“We can’t turn our backs on a school that’s preparing our city’s students for long-term success,” said Kooyenga. “We owe it these students, their families, this city and the region to support an institution providing hope for a brighter future.”
