Communicating With School Board Members

Whom to Contact

Please contact the Board member for your district.  Click here if you’re not certain who currently represents your district. 

If you’re not a city resident, please contact the Board member who represents the district school in which your school is located. 

All members should contact Terry Falk, the only Board member elected to a citywide seat.

How to Contact

You may email Board members at the MPS Office of Board Goverance at governance@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.

To send your message to the attention of your district representative, type in the member's name in the email subject line.

If you want to call Board members, their phone numbers are listed below.

Persuading 6 Board Members

On Nov. 17, six Board members voted for extreme health insurance changes:

1. Michael Bonds, (414) 475-8284 (Office of Board Governance)
2. Meagan Holman, (414) 614-1720
3. Mark Sain, (414) 614-1774
4. Jeff Spence, (414) 475-8284 (Office of Board Governance)
5. David W. Voeltner, (414) 469-9397
6. Annie Woodward, (414) 510-9079

Talking Points

When you contact these 6 Board members, please:

• Ask them to reconsider - based on the alternatives our union is preparing.

• Stress the reasonableness of delaying a few weeks until our union can develop actuarially sound alternatives.

• Point out that waiting until January will not change the July 1, 2012 implementation date for employees whose contract expires on June 30, 2012.

• Explain that alternatives which address district financial problems with less pain for employees would benefit our entire district - students, parents, and employees - and our city.

• Suggest that a relatively short delay now could payoff in the long term.

• Ask them to partner in solving the serious problems we all face – financial and academic.

Talking Point “Don’ts”

• Don’t discuss the salary freeze and furlough days.  They are a distraction at this time.  We need to focus solely on health insurance.

• Don’t vent, express anger or hostility, attack personally, etc.  We’re asking Board members to be open and reasonable; respect is a two-way street.

Thanking 3 Board Members

On Nov. 17, these 3 members fought vigorously for a delay and voted against taking action that night: 

1. Peter Blewett, (414) 534-4578
2. Terry Falk, (414) 510-9173
3. Larry Miller, (414) 469-9319

When you contact them, please:

• Thank them for their courage and "no" votes.

• Ask their help in persuading the other 6 members to consider the alternative health insurance changes our union is developing.

Communicating With Board Members Is Focus Now

We need to be realistic!

MPS must and will reduce its health care costs for active and retired employees.  The changes are due in large part to the Walker agenda of deep cuts in funding for public schools and eliminating bargaining and contacts.

There will be pain, and we need to act now to lessen it.

At this point, put the details on hold.

MPS has pages of information on the health/benefits changes on its website.  However, our union is not conceding that those changes are final.  And we are not devoting time/resources analyzing them. 

Our union's staff, attorneys, and actuary are developing alternatives that will cut the district's health insurance costs, but in ways which will be less painful for members.