IRG Report: Superintendent set the state for MPS financial failure – Washington Examiner
A recent report from the Institute for Reforming government (IRG) reveals that Wisconsin’s public school administrators were aware of Milwaukee Public Schools’ (MPS) financial crisis months before parents, voters, and some school board members were informed. The report, based on over 650 pages of public records acquired from State Superintendent Jill Underly, indicates that the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) neglected to act despite knowing about MPS’s financial issues.
Critics assert that this inaction may have influenced the approval of a significant $251 million referendum in 2023, with voters unaware of the district’s struggles at the time. According to the records, DPI staff expressed concerns about MPS’s late financial reports and the impact of MPS’s poor data submissions on other districts in Wisconsin. Though, neither DPI nor Underly have provided comments regarding the findings of the IRG report, which raises questions about the communication failures surrounding this critical situation.
IRG Report: Superintendent set the state for MPS financial failure
(The Center Square) – A new report says Wisconsin’s public school managers knew about Milwaukee Public Schools’ financial crisis months before parents, voters and some school board members but didn’t say anything.
The Institute for Reforming Government released more than 650 pages of public records requests from State Superintendent Jill Underly and her Department of Public Instruction.
“It took eight months and a legal threat against DPI to uncover what role they played in the Milwaukee Public Schools finance crisis of 2024,” IRG’s Chris Reader said in a statement.
The public records requests date back to 2023 and looks into how MPS missed the deadline for its 2023 required financial reports. The records also show what DPI knew about the late financial reports and was done.
“Superintendent Underly’s administration treated MPS with kid gloves, which financially hurt districts across Wisconsin. The Department of Public Instruction should have acted, and now it’s clear the inaction hurt Wisconsin students,” Reader added.
Neither DPI nor Underly have responded to IRG’s report.
Underly said in an interview last June that she thought MPS was working on its late financial reports, and didn’t see any need for concern.
“[In 2023], MPS was late with different reports. They released one at the end of March, and then two in mid-April,” Underly said in an interview with CBS 58. “So, by mid-April [of this year], we were still not concerned.”
IRG said the records show that wasn’t quite the case.
“A July 2023 discussion among DPI finance staff concluded, ‘We saw what a political mess it was when MPS gives us bad data,’” IRG wrote. “In October 2023, DPI finance staff criticized MPS for using an alternative submission process instead of normal finance software, including a request to delete, correct, and replace 2023 finance data.”
Critics have said that had Underly or DPI warned about the depths of MPS’ financial struggles, voters may not have approved a $251 million referendum in April 2023. MPS’ financial problems became news a few months later.
“Why did DPI tell the MPS Board in February 2023 about 2023’s late finances but not inform the board until May 2024 of their 2024 finance crisis?” IRG added.
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Reader also said there are unanswered questions about when, and if DPI and Underly knew that MPS’ late financial reports, and incomplete work could impact the finances of other school districts in the state.
“Correspondence from Superintendent Underly does not appear in the records. Thus, it is not clear when Superintendent Underly realized MPS would affect 420 other traditional school districts,” IRG’s report added.
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