Posley to receive $160,000 as part of MPS settlement

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The former superintendent who oversaw a financial crisis at Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) will receive a $160,000 lump sum payment as part of his agreement to resign from the district early Tuesday morning.

MPS released the terms off Keith Posley's separation agreement Tuesday afternoon. The MPS Board of Directors voted unanimously in a special meeting to accept Posley's resignation after spending more than five hours in closed session, negotiating the terms of the deal out of public view.

Posley found himself on the hot seat when the state Department of Public Instruction sent a letter May 24 outlining the harm the district was causing by falling to submit audited financial data to the state. MPS is more than eight months overdue, and without that information from the state's biggest district, DPI officials say it's almost impossible to provide early aid estimates to every Wisconsin school district by the July 1 deadline.

State officials believe the most recent data MPS has given the state was wrong. As a result, MPS received significant overpayments, and now that money will likely be withheld from the district's 2024-25 aid. The board could make up for that shortfall by either making cuts or raising property taxes on top of the $252 million referendum voters narrowly passed in April.

Other conditions of Posley's separation agreement include a payout for all unused vacation and personal days on top of the severance pay. At the time of his resignation, Posley received a combined $331,641 worth of salary and fringe benefits, according to the DPI's employee database.

The agreement also includes a non-disparagement agreement, in which both the board and Posley agree not to disparage one another. Posley agreed to cooperate with the district "with any litigation" following the agreement.

The MPS Board announced it will hold a briefing Wednesday afternoon at the district's central offices.