MPS submits financial reports to state, missed multiple deadlines
Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Public Schools on Wednesday, after missing multiple deadlines, announced that it has submitted required financial reports to the state Department of Public Instruction.
The backstory:
Wisconsin's largest school district missed its most recent deadline of Friday, May 30. MPS was originally supposed to submit reports for the 2023-2024 fiscal year in December, but the state gave the district an extension in January.
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The state gave MPS two hard deadlines. The first was May 16, to turn in the 2024 annual report, and the second was May 30, to turn in audited financial statements. The district missed both deadlines.
What they're saying:
DPI uses those reports to calculate aid payments to Wisconsin school districts.
In a statement to FOX6 News on Wednesday, DPI said it withheld an additional $25 million that was scheduled to be distributed on June 9, due to "the liability of incomplete data." The bulk of that funding, more than $17 million, was for "Special Education and School Age Parents aid."
DPI also said it was "committed to releasing these funds, and previously withheld funding, as soon as possible" once the required reports were submitted. MPS said the submission is another step toward the district receiving state aid.
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What's next:
The school district said it will continue to work with its external auditor and DPI to have those funds released. MPS said it does not foresee any withheld funds will interrupt student services.
In a statement, MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said:
"I am grateful to the Department of Public Instruction for its partnership with MPS and its assistance in wrapping up our 2024 financial reports. I am especially thankful to the MPS staff who have been working day and night on these reports. They untangled long-standing issues in MPS systems, and we are positioning the district to be able to submit our 2025 financial reports in a timely manner."
The Source: Information in this report is from Milwaukee Public Schools, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and prior FOX6 News coverage of the school district's delayed financial reports.