MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is grappling with financial difficulties. On Thursday, the board approved a $1.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year and adopted a corrective action plan (CAP) aimed at stabilizing its finances with the Wisconsin Department of Instruction (DPI).
The move comes after a period of turmoil for MPS, which culminated in the resignation of superintendent Keith Posley.
The district also faces the potential loss of millions of dollars in state aid, due to the financial regularities.
Henry Leonard was one of the seven school board directors who voted "yes" on the budget and CAP.
“It couldn’t have come at a sooner time,” said Leonard. “I would have preferred if it happened a couple weeks back, but I took a close look at it this morning. I like how it’s set up. It actually looks like it’s actually going to give us some set timelines.”
Leonard said by early September, MPS will have a better idea of where it stands in the audit portion of the district’s finances, and by fall, MPS will implement a new plan that will address more of the financial issues in depth.
However, Leonard cautioned that the plan is just the first step.
“It’s not enough to just give us all the corrected data and put everything in place, but from here on in, we have to have an actual corrective action plan,” said Leonard. “We have to abide by that plan, so that this never happens again.”
The newly approved budget and CAP were met with a mixture of hope and skepticism from MPS famliies. Students such as Zoe Chambers, a junior at Golda Meir High School, shared concerns about the future.
“It is a little uncertain feeling since we are going into a new school year coming up very soon,” said Chambers.
As for outrage expressed in Thursday night’s meeting, Leonard said he understands the frustration expressed by parents and students.
“When it comes to the parents, students, staff, people that are upset, I actually understand them,” he said. “I agree. I have neighbors that are upset. They just, they’re confused by what’s happened. We’ve lost a significant amount of trust in the community and the only way to build that back, is we have to get control over these situations both finances, operationally, educationally other be honest.”
Ultimately this impacts students. Chambers said she thinks more students need to be involved in school board meetings and hiring processes.
“Ok, you guys are firing people, but that means that means it’s going to be newer people. So just really having youth voice being in that hiring process someway, somehow,” said Chambers. “Youth are the people inside of the schools... I am an MPS student. We are the ones inside of the school, so we need to have a part in the decision of, ‘Who’s going to be our new superintendent?' 'Who are maybe going to be possible board members?'”
Leonard agreed and said he hopes students will be able to have more say and input in board meetings to better address these situations.
“Explain to them how things work and getting them involved in the system, giving them some not just voice but empowerment,” said Leonard. “What a difference that could make 10, 15, 20 years down the road.”