MPS financial data, school district misses another state deadline
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Public Schools will miss another deadline to submit financial data to the state Department of Public Instruction, a spokesperson said on Friday, May 16.
In a statement, the state's largest school district said it is communicating with DPI and uploading data but "will not complete everything" by Friday's initial deadline. MPS said its priority is "getting this done right and with the urgency it requires."
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
Missed deadlines
The backstory:
Wisconsin requires school districts to turn in financial documents and audited numbers.
Featured
MPS Central Office, superintendent announces new structure
MPS superintendent Brenda Cassellius laid out her vision to restructure the district's central office – which includes more job cuts.
DPI publicly revealed that MPS sent it a backlog of financial documents last May. There was a lot of fallout at that time, including the resignation of then-superintendent Keith Posley, heated public meetings, threats of millions of dollars of aid being withheld, and the state ordering an audit.
In January, MPS was already more than a year late in turning in financial documents from 2023. MPS missed another deadline to report financial data at that time; some paperwork was more than a year late. That delay led to new delays.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
MPS agreed to a corrective action plan with DPI last June and set due dates for things like its 2023 annual report. The new plan showed the district finished its 2023 audit this January, and the gap in reports was closing. The fiscal year 2024 audit was due in December. The new plan showed it would be due this May.
MPS statement
What they're saying:
Full MPS statement:
"Milwaukee Public Schools is committed to providing DPI with accurate and complete financial data. While we have communicated to DPI that we continue to upload data to them, we will not complete everything by today’s initial deadline. Our priority is getting this done right and with the urgency it requires. The data set is large and complex, and our team is working to clean up historical records to ensure accuracy. Superintendent Cassellius has made clear to her team that the priority is to deliver the final audited information with transparency and integrity. We will continue to communicate with DPI regularly on our progress."
The Source: Information in this report is from Milwaukee Public Schools and prior FOX6 News coverage of the district's financial reports.