MPS administrator plans to take D.C. schools post
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Karen Jackson, in effect the second highest ranking administrator in Milwaukee Public Schools, said Monday that she plans to take early retirement to become head of human resources for the Washington, D.C., public schools. Jackson, 54, said that if her appointment is approved by the Washington school board, she will leave MPS by the end of June. She has been chief administrative officer of the school system since William Andrekopoulos was named superintendent last August - and she was one of the other two finalists for the top job. Jackson’s husband, Aquine, 56, is a 35-year veteran of MPS and director of the MPS Office of Neighborhood Schools, which means he is the lead administrator in carrying out the neighborhood school initiative approved by the School Board in 2000. It is scheduled to continue until 2005. He said he remains committed to completing that job but is eager to become superintendent of a school system. He has applied for superintendent jobs around the country, including in Milwaukee. Kenosha - A 25-year-old Kenosha man was killed in a one-car accident Monday. Antonio Roman was driving on Sheridan Road around 1 a.m. when his vehicle struck a pole and continued onto a parking lot, where it hit a parked semitrailer truck, authorities said. Roman, who was alone, was pronounced dead at the scene. Shawano - A horse in Shawano County tested positive for the West Nile virus, Wisconsin’s first documented case of the disease this year, the state agriculture department reported Monday. The mare, which is recovering, showed signs of the mosquito-borne disease May 21, a week after completing a two-dose vaccination regimen. The vaccine can take up to two weeks to become fully effective. In a ruling that could affect fire and police departments throughout Wisconsin, the state Supreme Court has ruled that officers who received promotions with probationary terms can be sent back to their original positions without further hearings. In November 1997, Steven Kraus was promoted from his position as a patrol officer at the Waukesha Police Department to sergeant, with the condition that he complete a yearlong probationary period. But a week before that time elapsed, Kraus was demoted to his former position. The court’s decision Friday hinged on its interpretation of a state statute that regulates the hiring and promoting of officers. The court held that the statute provided a just cause hearing only for officers who were demoted because of disciplinary actions. In a lengthy dissent, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson called the law ambiguous and said it could be interpreted to support either side. She called for the Legislature to fix the statute’s “unclear language.” Madison - Out-of-state contributors donated a record $1.2 million to candidates for governor and the Legislature last year, and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s campaign got $396,240 of that, according to a report released Monday. Banking and finance-related executives donated the most out-of-state cash - $186,524 - to candidates, the non-profit Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said. They were followed by lawyers, law firms and lobbyists, $144,307; individuals whose professions were not disclosed, $120,979; business executives, $92,210; and construction executives, $74,149. Banking and finance executives don’t want corporate tax laws strengthened and want to continue a tax exemption for ATM machines, while so-called payday lenders want to be exempted from consumer protection laws, said Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. |