MPS finance problem: Dismantling school district a familiar question

MPS financial reporting delay reaction

With DPI saying the Milwaukee Public School District is behind on reporting its financial data, there's a lingering question: should the state's largest school district be dismantled?

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Public Schools financial report delays could cost the district millions of dollars and impact every school district in the state, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction announced Wednesday.

With the federal Head Start program suspending money for MPS, and the DPI announcing the district is at risk of losing state funds, is it time to dismantle Wisconsin's largest school district? The question has been posed before.

"Obviously, there’s a problem there with MPS. They’re just not getting the job done," said State Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville). "It can’t go on this way. We can’t keep shoveling more and more money to MPS and continue to see the dismal results."

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Stroebel said he isn't sure his fellow Republican lawmakers will call an extraordinary session to pass a bill to break up MPS.

"Yes, we should look into it, but it’s going to take some study, it’s going to take some time, and it’s going to take some planning," he said. "It’s not something we can take a snap decision on."

Wisconsin Capitol, Madison

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature passed a bill in 2022 that would have split MPS into four-to-eight smaller districts, but Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the bill – and Democratic lawmakers joined him in opposing it.

"As somebody who went to six different elementary schools in Milwaukee Public Schools, on all sides of town, I could just imagine what it would have been like for my mother, who I lived with primarily when I was growing up, to have to move around and then register your kid at a different school district every time you moved around," Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said.

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Johnson is an MPS grad and parent of three children who attend district schools.

"My goal right now is to make sure this gets solved, and that’s a decision for the administration and the school board to make," he said when asked about his trust in MPS leadership. "My responsibility right now is to make sure conversations are happening, and that the kids who attend Milwaukee Public Schools are in the best position to get all the resource that they need."

Evers' spokesperson told FOX6 the governor has been in touch with MPS and DPI, and is urging them to quickly reach a resolution. The spokesperson added no one – including Republican lawmakers – should be rooting for the failure of a district that serves thousands of Wisconsin students.

When FOX6 asked Stroebel if the Legislature would hold MPS accountable, he said DPI was doing that.