State will again withhold money from Milwaukee schools for missing deadlines to submit financial data

Milwaukee Public Schools has missed another deadline to submit financial data to the Department of Public Instruction, resulting in additional state aid for this year being withheld. 

In an email to WPR on Tuesday, a DPI official confirmed it would continue to withhold $16.6 million from last year and begin withholding “new aid from this year.” 

More information and a formal notice will be provided to the district later this week with exact amounts and steps to recover the funds, according to Deputy Superintendent Tom McCarthy. 

In a statement, MPS said it is working in close coordination with DPI and understands the money will be withheld.

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

The statement goes onto say that Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, who was hired in March, has been “laser-focused on shoring up all of the MPS practices that led to this delay and is actively implementing changes to ensure the district is never again in this position.”

The May 16 and May 30 deadlines were set by a 29-page corrective action plan developed after last year’s scandal when MPS’ failure to file required financial reports with the state lead to the loss of funding.

The situation led Gov. Tony Evers to call for two outside audits of the district.

The operational audit, released in February, found MPS was not adequately supporting student success. 

The damning 41-page report outlined a number of internal and external factors at the district that have caused multiple failures, including  an “absence of clear vision” and “leadership routinely disempowered to lead.”

An instructional audit is expected in the next few weeks.

MPS releases 2025-26 budget proposal 

MPS’ decision to not submit its financial information to the state on time comes as its 2025-26 budget is being released. 

The proposed $1.55 billion budget is more than $60 million higher than last year’s  $1.49 billion budget. The increase is due to a $252 million referendum voters narrowly approved in April 2024. 

The budget includes $16 million to clean up lead paint in schools. 

Years of deferred maintenance and budget cuts have resulted in a lead crisis that came to light this spring. 

Lead paint chips and other hazards have been found in numerous schools, and four students have tested positive for lead poisoning. 

“We will move forward with urgency in addressing the deferred maintenance that resulted in lead issues confronting our schools today,” Cassellius wrote in a letter attached to the budget. “The need is vast and will require increased spending.”

The district will make literacy its central academic focus, Cassellius wrote, with an emphasis on early literacy. 

The district will also address student attendance, strengthen engagement with families and the community and make strides in nutrition services, Cassellius wrote. 

“We are restructuring Central Services and enhancing our recruitment to address teacher vacancies,” she wrote. “While those vacancies reflect national hiring trends, we can and must take action to be sure every school has the high-quality teachers it needs.” 

In May, Cassellius announced a restructuring plan that would move employees out of the district’s central office and into classrooms to address academic outcomes.

In total, 181 job changes will be made under Cassellius’ plan. 

The Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association has been critical of the changes. In a statement released last week, the union compared Cassellius’s changes to Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts.

“In most cases, the superintendent is forcing qualified and highly specialized teachers to reapply for their jobs,” Ingrid Walker-Henry, MTEA president said in the statement.