MILWAUKEE — Days after Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) superintendent Keith Posley resigned, the school district’s comptroller position is vacant, too. 

What You Need To Know

  • Days after Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) superintendent Keith Posley resigned, the school district’s comptroller position is vacant, too

  • The district could not comment on whether the former comptroller, Alfredo Balmaseda, resigned or was terminated

  • This comes after the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) said it could pull state funding after MPS failed to submit required financial information

“MPS will launch a search to fill this position as quickly as possible,” Jilly Gokalgandhi, the vice president of the MPS school board, said.

Gokalgandhi said the district could not comment on whether the former comptroller, Alfredo Balmaseda, resigned or was terminated.

This comes after the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) said it could pull state funding after MPS failed to submit required financial information.

During a press conference Wednesday, school board officials did not share why those documents were not submitted on time. Officials said their main focus is working with DPI, an auditor and a financial consultant to get the work done.

The situation has caused an uproar among parents, community members and Milwaukee political leaders.

“We have no assurance that these problems — one — won’t happen again, or — two — are not endemic of deeper problems we don’t even know about,” Alderman Scott Striker of Milwaukee District 13 said.

Spiker has called on the school board to give taxpayers back a portion of the $140 million tax levy from the recently passed referendum.

“One of the members would put forward a budget amendment that would reduce the amount they take from the levy from $140 million to a lesser amount. I picked a number, 25%,” he said.

When asked if the tax levy should be reduced, Gokalgandhi said the board is focused on submitting financial documents to Wisconsin DPI.

“The referendum is a separate question,” Gokalgandhi said. “The district is still in need of those resources … That’s a completely different thing.”

The 2024-25 budget is due at the end of the month. Spiker is calling for a special session for the public to weigh in on the budget.

 The board said it will meet next week to discuss the budget and possible candidates for an interim superintendent.

Regional superintendent of the southwest region, Eduardo Galvan, is currently leading the district. 

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