MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — An outside firm hired by Gov. Tony Evers to audit Milwaukee Public Schools' (MPS) painted a picture of poor communication systems, overlapping jobs and a longstanding resistance to meaningful change. The firm's report recommended a major overhaul of the district's administration while also suggesting the board that's supposed to govern the district needs to develop a better understanding of what its job actually entails.

The Evers administration hired the firm, MGT, last summer to conduct a pair of MPS audits. One audit reviews the district's operations and another one will dig into MPS' academic practices. The latter audit is still underway.

MGT's report on MPS offered a total of 29 suggestions, and it branded 11 of them as "high priority." Many of them revolved around vacant high-level positions within the district.

Among those key recommendations are hiring the district's vacant chief operations officer and chief communications officer positions. The audit also called for the district to install new human resources leadership "with the capability and willingness to shepherd comprehensive changes."

MPS' most recent Chief Human Resources Officer, Adria Maddaleni, is no longer with the district, an MPS spokesman confirmed Wednesday. Maddaleni was one of four district officials who were in line to get a pay bump to $200,000 before public outcry caused administrative leaders to back off the plan in September.

The audit also called for substantial changes to how workers can report problems and how department leaders can enact overdue changes.

"A longstanding culture of fear and reluctance to change, compounded by high turnover across the organization and recruitment challenges, have stalled or altogether prevented change-making efforts," the audit read.

MGT's report noted a theme of redundant jobs and systems, as well as confusion caused by offices and tasks volleying from one department to another. The firm stated it conducted 18 interviews with MPS and Department of Public Instruction (DPI) leaders, and well as elected members of the MPS Board of School Directors.

"Interviewees shared that reporting structures are confusing," the audit read. "For example, the Department of Technology Services has been relocated across at least four departments."

The audit also noted how both the district's administration and the MPS board have their own communications offices, which can lead to conflicting messages coming from the district. The audit recommended consolidating those offices.

The report illustrates a difficult task for the district's next superintendent. The board on Tuesday night named Brenda Cassellius as its pick to lead MPS. Cassellius, who previously was the superintendent of Boston Public Schools and Minnesota's commissioner of education.

If she agrees to contract terms with MPS, she'll take over as superintendent on July 1. The MGT report suggested the district's next superintendent go on a "listening tour" to hear from teachers, families and taxpayers.

Evers dedicated $5.5 million to the effort. A spokesperson for the governor says MGT will receive about $2 million for the two audits, while the rest will go to MPS so it can implement the suggested changes.

MGT's audit of MPS' instructional process will come out at a time when recent national testing found MPS had one of the worst reading scores among large urban U.S. districts. There is not yet an expected date for when that report will be released.

“At the end of the day, the bottom line for me in this effort has always been about identifying areas the district can improve to make sure our kids are set up for success," Evers said in a statement Thursday. "This audit is a critical next step for getting MPS back on track and, ultimately, improving outcomes for our kids, so I urge and expect the district to take these recommendations seriously and move forward quickly with implementing this audit’s findings.”

Evers also announced Thursday his proposed budget, will be presented in full this Tuesday, will include an additional $5 million for MPS to implement reforms. An Evers spokesperson told reporters the district would only get that money if state officials deem it has made legitimate progress. The Republican-controlled Legislature would have to sign off on any Evers budget item.

MGT also called for members of the board to receive training that would help them "better understand their roles and develop actionable and realistic expectations of MPS Administration." Last summer, board member Henry Leonard told CBS 58 the board does not receive training on district finances amid a fiscal crisis that forced MPS' previous superintendent, Keith Posley, to resign.

While the board is supposed to serve as a check on the administration, board members were in the dark about the district's mismanaged finances, which came to a head last spring when the DPI revealed MPS had submitted late and inaccurate financial data to the state.

Those issues persist, as Leonard said Tuesday he couldn't get an answer about whether the district's new comptroller, Begmurad Nepesov, was still with MPS. Multiple sources told CBS 58 last week Nepesov had left the district after only two weeks in the key financial office position.

For the past week, the district refused to say whether Nepesov was still employed by MPS. A district spokesman on Wednesday finally confirmed Nepesov was indeed out. On a briefing call with MGT, the firm did not have specific suggestions for what the board should do if administrators keep stonewalling them, aside from reviewing the "best practices" in other districts.

The district is still working with the DPI on turning in the last of its long-overdue 2023 audited financial data, as well as getting up to speed on reporting its 2024 and 2025 financial data.