School chief doesn’t swing at mayor’s pitch

Testing the reach of his influence, Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke called on Port-Saukville School Supt. Michael McMahon in a proclamation he read at the Oct. 20 Common Council meeting to start the school day late this week so students can stay up to watch the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series and be rested for classes.

“Therefore, I strongly suggest, with the greatest respect for his authority and with the full weight of this office behind the suggestion, that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael McMahon authorize late starts for school on the mornings following World Series games so that our students may stay up, cheer on their team and arrive at class rested, inspired and able to explain the infield fly rule,” Neitzke, a former school superintendent who is currently CEO of the educational consortium CESA 6, said while reading the Let’s Go Brewers Days proclamation just days after the Brewers swept the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to the Fall Classic.

“The Mayor acknowledges that he holds no jurisdiction over school calendars. He notes, however, that he once held jurisdiction over third base, and he asks the superintendent to consider that a well-timed late start may be the most educational decision of the year,” Neitzke continued.

But even invoking Wisconsin’s favorite team at the height of the Brewers frenzy wasn’t enough to persuade McMahon to change the carefully planned school schedule.

“As a Cubs fan, I had to simply say no,” McMahon said, adding quickly that he was kidding about his affinity for the Cubs being the reason for rebuffing Neitzke’s suggestion.

In a memo to staff members last week, McMahon wrote, “In other news, I may have officially caught Brewers fever!”

  But apparently not a bad enough case that it interferes with his professional judgment.

“In response to Mayor Neitzke’s Brewers proclamation and his request that I schedule delayed starts next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so students can ‘stay up, cheer on their team and arrive at class rested, inspired and able to explain the infield fly rule,’ I have a compromise,” McMahon wrote. “While I can’t promise delayed starts, I can declare Brewers gear and jeans days all next week through Oct. 31.”

During Monday’s School Board meeting, held on the night Milwaukee beat Tampa Bay 10-1 to take a three-game lead over the Rays, McMahon said, “But thank you to Ted (Neitzke) for making us think about the infield fly rule.”

Then McMahon announced there will be no school on Friday, Oct. 30, which would allow students to rest up for game 6 that night if needed.

Gracious, but Friday is a scheduled day off for students for parent-teacher conferences and professional development.