Milwaukee Public School’s financial crisis in spiraling out of control

The education funding scandal in Milwaukee has worsened as those in charge appear to be passing the buck.

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is under fire for failing to submit important financial data to the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI).  

As a result, DPI has already withheld $16.6 million in state aid from the district, with millions more still on the line.  

After the crisis became public knowledge, MPS Superintendent Keith Posley resigned and Comptroller Alfredo Balmaseda was fired in what he described as being “relieved.” 

Now, the district is scrambling to get its affairs in order, though one state senator called its corrective action plan “laughable.”  

“It was almost laughable if it wasn’t so sad,” said Sen. John Jagler, R-Watertown, who chairs the Committee on Education. “It looked like something that an intern threw into ChatGPT saying, ‘Give me a plan to clear up our finances.’ There was nothing in there that gave me confidence that they were going to be able to turn the documents in on time.” 

DPI posted in support of Jagler’s view on X. 

Milwaukee’s own senator, Democrat LaTonya Johnson, even found out MPS had been hugely overpaid in previous years, though the exact amount is unknown. 

“We were told tens of millions, but no direct answer,” Johnson explained. “They [the Milwaukee school board] said the superintendent didn’t keep them informed as he should have. They said DPI never reaches out to the school board for anything.” 

DPI confirmed Johnson’s comments, saying the “past errors” would likely result in “a significant reduction in general aid payments for MPS in the 2024-25 fiscal year.” 

However, none of the leaders involved seem to want to take responsibility for the crisis.  

City alderman Scott Spiker called for the school board to resign, saying they should “step down with honor” rather than trying to “thwart the will of the electorate.” 

“Government that’s not transparent, that doesn’t share facts with people, that doesn’t take their considered viewpoints into account in its deliberations, that’s unresponsive to their wishes and unaccountable to their demands – that sort of government we have one word for: undemocratic,” said Spiker. 

School board member Henry Leonard disagreed that the board should be replaced. 

“Bringing in a new board wouldn’t be like pressing button and everything starts working again,” he said. “That would be massive chaos.” 

“We’ve had our statutory hearings, we’ve had multiple sessions on the budget,” added the board’s vice president, Jilly Gokalgandhi. “The board is really focused on getting DPI the information that we need right now.” 

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the situation reflected “deep problems” which “require prompt solutions” but rejected the idea of a mayoral takeover of the district. 

And Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers also failed to offer any real solutions except a third-party audit of MPS. 

But Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, questioned how meaningful a private audit would really be.  

“The non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau has a long track record of transparent work on behalf of taxpayers,” explained LeMahieu. “Governor Evers’ decision to move forward with an outside audit is disappointing, and his administration must be careful to choose an auditor with no ulterior motives or other entanglements.”