GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC26) -- Parents in Green Bay are polarized.
Members of the school board disagree.
And now the same goes for the Green Bay City Council.
"I would never want to lose our voice in critical conversations that impact all taxpayers," District 9 Alderperson Brian Johnson said.
At Tuesday night's Green Bay Common Council meeting -- after a heated debate -- city alders voted 'yes' to move forward with a written resolution for the Green Bay Area Public School board. It urges the district to transition to a safe, in-person option for students. But some question whether it will matter.
"We have absolutely zero jurisdiction or any connection with the school board," District 7 Alderperson Randy Scannell said. "We're separate entities by design. The school board was created separately to keep municipalities from messing with their business."
Though the council still needs to vote on an approval to send the resolution to the district, some alders feel like it's their duty.
"When students choose to open enroll in other school districts, people choose not to move to the City of Green Bay or they choose to leave the City of Green Bay, those are all things that absolutely fall within our jurisdiction and impact us in a negative way," Johnson said.
But of the 12 alders on the council, some believe they're overstepping.
"I can't think of one [motion] where we're telling them [school board] what to do from an operational standpoint," Scannell said. "They were big issues -- usually issues that more directly affected city business -- like the big box stores and taxes."
The original plan was created by alder Jessie Brunette. It states the City Council supports the school board. But Scannell says every parents voice hasn't been heard.
"We should not only be hearing from those who want to open, but from those who support the present position and from the board and superintendent, which I don't think any of that alder Brunette has done," Scannell said.
And though it's a simple gesture, some alders hope it puts pressure on the board to reopen schools before the current March 29 return date.
"We're not intervening," Johnson said. "This is a non-binding resolution. The school board can literally take this and throw it in a drawer. They don't have to do anything with it."
The City Council will now write up an official resolution for the school district. But it still needs to pass a majority vote at the next full council meeting before it's sent to the board.
