MPS board gives authority to acting superintendent; no candidate list yet for interim superintendent
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Board directors for Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) voted unanimously Monday night to formally appoint an acting superintendent, giving him the authority to make essential hires as the district searches for an interim, and eventually, permanent superintendent.
After former Superintendent Keith Posley resigned two weeks ago, the board appointed Regional Superintendent Eduardo Galvan to oversee day-to-day operations.
The board also announced it has not finalized a list of candidates for interim superintendent.
The district's leadership has been thrown into chaos amid a financial scandal that could cost MPS as much as $50 million; that's the amount of state aid the district could lose next year as a result of overpayments MPS previously received as a result of bad financial data it gave to the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
The ability to make hires is especially critical for the district's finance office, which has been decimated by vacancies, firings and resignations.
Chief Financial Officer Martha Kreitzman retired last week, and comptroller Alfredo Balmaseda was fired the week before. A corrective action plan MPS submitted to the state outlined eight vacancies at permanent positions following Balmaseda's firing.
Board Director Henry Leonard said Galvan's new authority will allow him to help plug some of those holes as the district prepares to budget around the lost state aid.
"When we get past the proposed budget, and we get to the real budget, that's when the work really starts to get much more voluminous," Leonard said. "And [Galvan is] gonna have to really work with us to make sure we can make that budget actually work."
Leonard said he hoped the board would be close to finishing the search for an interim superintendent by next month, but a formal release by the board later said the goal is to have an interim superintendent in place by the start of the 2024-25 school year in early September.
Board Director Megan O'Halloran said during the meeting the board was working with the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators and the Washington D.C.-based Council of the Great City Schools to find interim superintendent candidates.
Angela Harris, chairwoman of the Black Educators Caucus and an outspoken critic of the MPS board and administration, said there should already be a list of interim targets.
"At this stage in the game, it's really important, I believe, for the community to know who the potential candidates are for the interim superintendent," Harris said.
Another critic, Ald. Scott Spiker, said he wanted the board to publicly the discuss the traits it will value most when selecting an interim leader.
"I understand they can't conduct interviews in the public eye," Spiker said. "But saying, 'We're not gonna have any discussion at all about what we're looking for'? That further undermines the trust that's already in short supply."
As for a permanent superintendent, Leonard said the search process could take between nine months and a year.
"I'm gonna say a year," Leonard added.
In the short-term, the district and DPI are scrambling to get a somewhat clear picture of MPS' finances for the previous school year. By July 1, the state needs to provide districts across Wisconsin with an early estimate of their state aid totals.
The district was supposed to submit an audited version of its finances by September, but the state still hasn't gotten it. DPI officials waited until late May to inform the board of the missing data.
Evers seeking firms for state audits
Gov. Tony Evers' office announced Monday it was now accepting applications from firms interested in performing an audit on MPS' finances and operations.
Citing a desire to move quickly, Evers' office said it would choose from a list of nine firms that had applied for a previous UW System audit. That list includes Baker Tilly, which has been working with MPS on the delayed audit, as well as a 2022 audit that flagged concerns about delays and difficulties in getting information.
The governor's office said it will accept applications for the operational audit through June 24. Leonard said he was told by the governor the audits will take about six months to complete.
Evers' office added it will seek a waiver to speed up the process of requesting applications for a second audit digging through MPS' instructional practices in the classroom.
The governor's office has previously said it will fund the audits with federal dollars from previous awards that weren't fully spent and additional dollars earmarked for Milwaukee schools. A spokesperson for Evers has not provided any more details about those funding sources.
A release Monday from MPS Board President Marva Herndon said the board welcomed the audits.