MPS Board approves budget & action plan, then adjourns behind closed doors & ducks media

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Board of School Directors voted 7-1 Thursday night, June 13, to approve a $1.5 billion dollar budget that will provide some stability during a time of upheaval.

The board then went into closed session to discuss possible candidates for the interim superintendent position.

But they adjourned behind closed doors and left before the media was notified.

Earlier in the meeting, the board unanimously approved the final draft of the Corrective Action Plan crafted with the state's Department of Public Instruction, a first step toward receiving tens of millions of dollars in withheld state aid.

Approving the plan does not automatically release the withheld funds, but it is a necessary step.

Public comment was open for roughly two hours as dozens of people lined up for and against the budget.

Brenda Hart Richardson asked the board, "What are we doing here? This is not a game. This is serious business."

MPS educator Mara Kachelski said, "This rage is not coming from nowhere."

The teachers union wanted the budget passed.

MPS educator David Eppelshemier said, "Please pass this budget. It is your responsibility. It is your responsibility to keep this district safe."

But many people concerned with the board's financial situation wanted them to wait.

Throughout the meeting they chanted, "Hold the budget! Hold the budget!"

The two factions battled early and often in the audience, forcing an early recess.

But the drama in the seats distracted at times from the important work at stake on stage.

The meeting began with a unanimous vote on the Corrective Action Plan that was crafted in collaboration with the DPI.

Matt Chason, of the MPS Office of Accountability and Efficiency, said, "We have a number of steps we still have to do. [But] this is an important milestone."

But the plan's approval does not automatically release the $16 million in withheld state aid for special education programs.

Chason said the DPI "would recognize of the withheld special aid payment and all other future aid payments contingent upon us making adequate and sufficient progress on this plan after the Board's approval."

Current Superintendent Keith Posley -with two weeks left on the job- was not at the meeting.

Personnel issues underscored throughout, especially vacancies and confusion in the beleaguered finance department.

Amy Young, an MPS parent and data analyst, said she was ready to help. "And I'm a nerd, I could probably help them, right? That's what I'm thinking in my head. So I called your school and your HR department told me? We're not hiring, there's no jobs available."

Earlier in the day chief financial officer Martha Kreitzman retired from the district.

And recall efforts targeting half of the sitting board were top of mind.