Missed deadlines spur Wisconsin to withhold aid from Milwaukee Public Schools

After Milwaukee Public Schools missed May 16 and May 30 deadlines to submit financial reports, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is withholding new aid to the district.

“Withholding funding is a last resort and comes after countless hours spent supporting MPS,” said Tom McCarthy, the department’s deputy state superintendent says in a statement quoted by the local Fox affiliate.

“We’ve seen real progress in recent months under the leadership of Dr. Brenda Cassellius, and we recognize and appreciate the hard work that has gone into those efforts. Meeting key deadlines is critical to ensure the DPI can accurately and efficiently calculate general aid estimates for school districts across Wisconsin.” 

The district “clearly understands” this action and emphasizes student services should not be affected, the local ABC affiliate reports. 

“We expect that our team will be able to submit all of the final information and data needed in the coming days and have been assured that state funds can be released quickly after it is reviewed,” said Stephen Davis, the district’s media relations manager.  

“We expect any withholding of funds to be temporary and will not interrupt services to students in any way.” 

Extended history of missed filings 

As previously reported by The Lion, the district has a long history of fiscal mismanagement – causing the city’s Democrat state senator to admit it has been overfunded by “tens of millions” for years. 

The district lost $81 million in state aid after making substantial errors in its 2024 financial reporting. 

“At the time, MPS blamed inexperienced staff and out-of-date software for the late financial reports,” Tanner Kahler writes for the local ABC affiliate. 

A corrective action plan by the district drew criticism at the time from state Sen. John Jagler, R-Watertown: “It looked like something that an intern threw into ChatGPT saying, ‘Give me a plan to clear up our finances.’” 

The May 16 and May 30 deadlines came after the district missed an earlier deadline for December, according to the local Fox affiliate. 

Meanwhile, the district came under fire earlier this year for its handling of unsafe lead levels in at least three of its schools. 

“I think the district has a ways to go with transparency and earning back our trust with some commitments,” said one parent named Casey during an April 10 virtual town hall meeting. 

The district, which is the state’s largest and served over 68,000 students in the 2022-23 school year, acknowledged gaps at the time in addressing community concerns. 

“We have curated a list of frequently asked questions that is being shared with families and being posted on our website,” Superintendent Brenda Cassellius told the school board. 

“We also heard repeated calls from families to increase our communications to them on the status of the work happening in their buildings, and we are committed to doing that.”