On Thursday, the Wisconsin Department of Education withheld $16,623,612 in June special education aid from the Milwaukee Public Schools district because the district has yet to submit key financial data. Some of the unsubmitted reports are more than eight months late. Earlier this week, the district lost its superintendent and auditor. Superintendent Dr. Keith Posley resigned this week, and the district’s auditor, Alfredo Balmaceda, said he was fired. The state education department had a plan to get back on track, but it wasn’t enough for the department. “It would be almost laughable if it weren’t so sad,” said state Sen. John Jagler (R-Watertown), chairman of the Senate education committee. Jagler obtained the first and second drafts of the plan submitted to the Milwaukee Public Schools district for financial restructuring through a public records request. “This is not a plan at all. It’s definitely a plan with quotation marks,” Jagler said. MPS put together the proposal after the state threatened to withhold $16 million in payments to the district. The draft plan promises a list of changes to how MPS manages its finances, including reprogramming its financial software, hiring outside consultants and creating a “culture of communication between departments.” The plan, dated June 5, also includes the so-called “24-hour rule” to submit future reports the day before they are due. “It was like an intern threw it into ChatGPT and said, ‘Give me a plan to get our finances in order.’ Nothing gave me any confidence that we could submit the paperwork on time,” Jagler said. Jagler posted a screenshot of the plan on Thursday, writing, “We don’t need to find a quick fix.” The Wisconsin Department of Education agreed, replying to the post, “I agree with Rep. Jagler. We made it clear that we need a real plan.”
The Wisconsin Department of Education on Thursday withheld $16,623,612 in June special education aid to the Milwaukee Public Schools district, saying the district has yet to turn in key financial data. Some of the missing reports are more than eight months late.
Earlier this week, the district lost its superintendent and auditor: Superintendent Dr. Keith Posley resigned this week, and district auditor Alfredo Balmaceda said he was fired.
MPS had a plan to get back on track, but it wasn’t enough for the Department of Public Instruction.
“It’s almost laughable, if not very sad,” said state Sen. John Jagler (R-Watertown), chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
Through a public records request, Jaguar obtained the first and second drafts of the plan MPS sent regarding DPI’s financial restructuring.
“This isn’t a plan at all, although it is certainly a plan,” Jaguar said.
MPS put together the proposal after the state threatened to withhold $16 million in payments to the district.
The draft plan lays out a series of plans to change how MPS manages its finances, including reprogramming its financial software, hiring outside consultants and creating a “culture of communication between departments.”
The plan, dated June 5, also includes a so-called “24-hour rule” that requires future reports to be submitted one day before they are due.
“It looked like an intern had posted on the GPT chat, ‘Give me a plan to get your finances in order,'” Jagler said. “Nothing to give us any confidence that they’d be able to submit the paperwork in time.”
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Jagr posted a screenshot of the plan to X on Thursday, writing that there was “no need to find a quick solution.”
The Wisconsin Department of Education agreed, replying to the post, “Senator Jaguar is right. We’ve made it clear we need a realistic plan.”