I’ve had my week away from the keyboard, and it’s time to get back to South Milwaukee blogging.

Let’s get started by getting readers caught up with items of note from the past week, including the following Milwaukee Journal Sentinel articles:

• South Milwaukee Mayoral Candidates Face Off Again: More on the upcoming mayoral race, one of two locally contested seats in South Milwaukee. The other is for City Clerk and pits Alderman Jim Shelensek against incumbent Kathy Lisowski. There’s also a South Milwaukee School Board race that will pit one incumbent against at least two declared write-in candidates.
• Racine Business Broup Airs Pro-Transit Ads
• Rail Opponents Rally Suburbs

So, what’s coming up this week? Not much on the City Council side, save for a meeting of the South Milwaukee Downtown Market set for Thursday. (Don’t forget about the Downtown Market Spring Market on April 10 at Bucyrus!)

Also coming up this week is the initial meeting Monday between South Milwaukee School Board and South Milwaukee Education Association negotiation teams. Proposals will be exchanged, according to this agenda.

These are critical talks, as they will determine just how deeply the South Milwaukee School District will have to cut teachers, staff, programs and services this summer and fall. Learn more in this post, and see the complete list of preliminary budget and staffing approvals and other information on the district’s budget here.