MILWAUKEE — The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) said it notified Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) on Thursday that it will temporarily withhold MPS’ June special education aid funds. 

The district's June 2024 Special Education Aid Payment amounts to $16,623,612. MPS said it knew beforehand this payment would likely be delayed. 

DPI said it is actively working with MPS to create a corrective action plan (CAP) for MPS to turn in missing required data.

“We remain optimistic we will have a CAP in place so we can make the scheduled general aid payment later this month. When we have a CAP in place, we will also be able to release this withheld special education aid payment. Our focus remains on solving this challenge and supporting all of Milwaukee’s children,” Chris Bucher, DPI communications officer, said.

This comes after DPI said it could pull state funding after MPS failed to submit the required financial information. Since then, the district’s superintendent resigned and the comptroller position subsequently became vacant.

The school board has not revealed why the 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.

According to MPS, Wisconsin DPI said the district will be able to recoup all delayed funds once the needed reports have been submitted.

MPS said the delay in submitting the reports “will not have any impact on current staffing, hiring or other district operations.”

Wisconsin DPI emphasized it is important the required reports are submitted in a timely manner since MPS is the largest school district in the state and gets the most aid. Those reports could affect how much funding other school districts get across the state.

“My goal, and the Department of Public Instruction’s goal, is to make sure all kids have everything they need to succeed. My team continues to work with Milwaukee Public Schools to help solve this immediate challenge. We will continue to engage with them on a daily basis,” State Superintendent Jill Underly said. 

“In Wisconsin’s system of local control, elected school boards make decisions about district superintendent staffing. No matter how the board chooses to move forward, under my leadership, the DPI will continue working with the MPS team to resolve the current challenge. As we go forward, our primary focus is on improving outcomes for all of Milwaukee’s children,” Underly continued. 

In May, MPS was told federal funding for its Head Start program will be suspended for 30 days. According to MPS, the Administration of Children and Families (ACF) said the decision to suspend funding was based on three program deficiencies. ACF said those deficiencies occurred between June 2022 and May 2024. In a press release, MPS did not state what those were.