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Milestone Democratic School in Madison.
A state-authorized public charter school in Madison initially refused to work with police after a student found a gun in a school employee’s backpack, according to a recently released police report, and the employee refused to answer questions about the incident.
Police ultimately closed their investigation of the June 1 incident involving Milestone Democratic School teacher Art Richardson, saying they did not have enough evidence that Richardson knew he had the gun in his backpack and after Richardson put off speaking to them and then cut off communication entirely.
Knowingly bringing a firearm into a school is a Class I felony under state law, punishable by up to 3½ years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 or both.
Sean Anderson, the school’s leadership liaison and co-founder, said in an email that “school leaders were fully cooperative with the Madison Police Department throughout the investigation.”
“Within 24 hours of receiving the report, the School’s Governing Board held an emergency meeting and directed school leadership to file a report with the police,” he said.
Prior to that, however, a parent who had been notified of the gun’s discovery alerted police, who called the school on June 2 and were told by administrator Sarah Wilkening that school leaders would be meeting with their attorney that night and would not yet provide any information, including Richardson’s name, according to the police report released Aug. 26 under a public records request and shared with the Wisconsin State Journal on Tuesday.
The Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection recently held an informational hearing on K-12 virtual schools in Wisconsin. Department of Public Instruction senior policy advisor Jennifer Kammerud highlighted that in the 2020-21 school year, there will be 52 virtual schools in Wisconsin compared to 48 virtual schools from last year that served 8,791 students. In 2019-20, there were over 850 thousand students in 421 public school districts and 25 independent charter schools, and over 750 private schools serving over 120 thousand students. Kammerud also shared that about 15 percent of students did not have access to internet at home. "Moving forward, we do need to have a way to make sure that students can access the instruction," Kammerud said.
Watch the full program: https://wiseye.org/2020/07/23/senate-committee-on-government-operations-technology-and-consumer-protection-10/
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Police say the school formally reported the incident the next day. Anderson said it was reported the night of June 2 after the school’s board met.
According to the report, video surveillance from the school showed Richardson sitting with and going into the backpack at least once in the lobby area of the school, where students were working on a mural toward the end of the school day on June 1. He then left it there unattended, and a student found the gun.
Witnesses differed on whether the gun was easily seen in the backpack or if it had fallen out, with one student alleging there had been an ammunition clip with bullets in it, according to the report. After overhearing students talk about the gun, Wilkening put the backpack into a locked office, and Richardson later locked it in his vehicle, according to the school and police report.
The school said the gun wasn’t loaded, but it was never inspected by police or school officials.
Richardson did not respond to requests for comment from the State Journal, and school officials have said he forgot the gun had been in the backpack and has a concealed-carry permit.
Neil Anderson, whose son attended Milestone at the time the gun was found and is not related to Sean Anderson, said that “as a parent the entire situation is very frightening.”
“The school seems to be content saying it was just an accident and thinks that should be the end of it for parents like me,” he said. “As a firearm owner myself the concept of ‘I forgot where my gun and ammunition is’ does not sound very believable.”
Police made multiple attempts to get in touch with Richardson in person and by phone beginning June 7, according to the police report. He eventually agreed to speak with police with his attorney present but then informed them on June 13 that he would not.
Richardson was put on paid leave after the gun’s discovery, school officials told parents in June. Anderson declined to say whether the school required Richardson to speak with police or was disciplined in connection with the incident.
Milestone serves grades 6 through 12 and students up to age 21, and opened in fall 2020. The school received a charter from the University of Wisconsin System’s Office of Educational Opportunity and seed money from a federal charter school grant program awarded by the state Department of Public Instruction. It enrolled 44 students last year, according to DPI.
Milestone bills itself as being “designed by youth for youth.” It does not give out traditional letter grades, allows students to develop their own “personal learning plans” and gives students and staff equal voice in the school’s administration.
The director of the Office of Educational Opportunity, Vanessa Moran, declined to comment about the June 1 incident, and Anderson declined to say whether the incident resulted in any sanctions from Moran’s office.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 7 to clarify that seed money awarded to Milestone came from the federal government and was awarded by DPI, and on Oct. 8 to clarify that the Office of Educational Opportunity did not comment.
Number of schools in district: 4
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 105
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 1,001
Number of schools in district: 3
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 103
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 761
Number of schools in district: 3
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 87
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 777
Number of schools in district: 4
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 90
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 928
Number of schools in district: 3
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 99
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 915
Number of schools in district: 6
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 232
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 2,520
Number of schools in district: 4
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 282
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 5,076
Number of schools in district: 8
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 246
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 2,906
Number of schools in district: 6
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 292
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 3,515
Number of schools in district: 7
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 237
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 3,951
Number of schools in district: 8
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 473
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 5,741
Number of schools in district: 7
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 342
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 4,375
Number of schools in district: 7
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 332
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 4,108
Number of schools in district: 16
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 701
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 8,475
Number of schools in district: 12
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 685
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 7,534
Annualized salary data was collected from the Middleton-Cross Plains School District administration office for the 2020-21 school year because Monogue became superintendent in July.
Carlton Jenkins is the new superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District.
Number of schools in district: 51
Number of licensed teachers in 2019: 2,758
Number of students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year: 26,842
Jane Belmore, the district’s interim superintendent, earned an annualized salary of $247,606 for the 2019-20 school year. She replaced former Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham, who resigned in August to teach at Harvard. Cheatham earned an annualized salary of $246,374.
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Milestone Democratic School in Madison.
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