Milwaukee Public Schools: Eduardo Galvan named acting superintendent

The Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) Board of Directors took action on Monday evening, June 17 and named Eduardo Galvan as acting superintendent of the district.

The board formalized the authority Galvan would have over the school district, giving him more direct responsibility for overseeing day-to-day duties of the district. 

Eduardo Galvan

A news release says Galvan will stay in the role until the board names an interim superintendent. It is the goal of the board to have an interim superintendent in place before the 2024-25 school year begins. The interim superintendent would then oversee the district until a permanent candidate can be hired. The school board has indicated it will conduct a national search for a permanent superintendent.

Eduardo Galvan

Director Henry Leonard said the board is moving in the right direction. But because the discussion was behind closed doors, some are calling for more transparency. 

"We had a lack of staff across the whole departments. He gets to start looking at so we had a lack of staff across the departments in central office," Leonard said. "He would be assisted with that by DPI when it comes to finance.

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"I definitely see a pattern here. There have been many a closed session meeting where the community is being kept in the dark about what is exactly happening; not only with the financials of Milwaukee Public Schools, but who is running Milwaukee Public Schools," said Angela Harris, Chairwoman, Chair of Black Educators Caucus MKE.

"If we want to put our heads in the sand and pretend everything alright that it’s all somebody elses fault.. and there’s nothing wrong with the structure of MPS thren we’re asking for trouble and I don’t want it," said Milwaukee Alderman Scott Spiker.

It has now been two weeks since Keith Posley resigned as superintendent amid the district's financial crisis. 

Here is what a Marquette Law School fellow had to say about potential challenges.

"Superintendent searches can take an entire school year so the interim superintendent could be in there for much of, if not all of the next school year which means it's going to be an important position," said Alan Borsuck, Senior Fellow at Marquette Law School. "Then you get to the question of who'd like this job? It pays really well, but it's such a formidable problem at the moment."