Just when you think things within Milwaukee Public Schools couldn’t get any worse, they outdo themselves.
Failure there has no consequences for the adults supposedly in charge.
Let’s get right to today’s Key Reads.
The state’s largest public school district has failed generations after generations of Milwaukee’s kids. Now, it’s failing to do the absolute minimum financial reporting required to receive funding from the state. Somehow, we’re sure the MPS “Board “leaders” will blame others for their incompetence.
MPS could have funding suspended after failing to submit financial reports to state | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
State officials are admonishing Milwaukee Public Schools and threatening to suspend funding to the district after MPS officials have failed to provide key financial reports, some of which were due over eight months ago, according to a recent letter to MPS Superintendent Keith Posley released to the public Wednesday…
“Not only are many required reports incredibly late, MPS has demonstrated a pattern of submitting incomplete data, as well as requesting data changes without having the required documentation for the request,” DPI Deputy State Superintendent John Johnson said in the letter…
School board examines superintendent Keith Posley’s job performance
Board members held a closed session meeting Tuesday night to discuss Posley’s “employment, compensation, and performance evaluation data.” Board members haven’t said what happened in that meeting.
Board members are scheduled to continue discussing Posley’s employment at their meeting on Thursday, again in closed session. The topic was added to the Thursday agenda on Wednesday…
A previous audit of Milwaukee Public Schools, conducted by Baker Tilly for the 2021-22 school year, identified several weaknesses.
Auditors told board members in May 2023 that they had found MPS had not prepared financial statements “in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles” or in line with state and federal funding schedules.
We favor transparency in government. But releasing the birthdates of all Wisconsin police officers along with their names seems to be a massive security risk. Maybe that’s the hope here?
Groups sue Wisconsin Justice Department for names of every police officer in state | Associated Press
Two groups of investigative journalists tracking police misconduct have filed a lawsuit in the hopes of forcing the Wisconsin Department of Justice to divulge the names, birth dates and disciplinary records of every officer in the state.
The Badger Project and the Invisible Institute filed the lawsuit last Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court after the Justice Department refused to release most of the data, citing officer safety and calling the request excessive…
This could be a great public-private partnership that boosts economic development and investment in Wisconsin, as long as the state gets out of the way of the private sector managers.
Wisconsin launches new $100 million investment fund with biohealth focus | BizTimes
Wisconsin has a new $100 million venture capital fund created to support the state’s high-growth startups and entrepreneurs.
The launch of the Wisconsin Investment Fund, a public-private venture capital program that will initially invest $100 million in Wisconsin startups, was announced Wednesday by Gov. Tony Evers and representatives from the WEDC…
Each venture capital firm must match each dollar of public funds with at least one dollar of private money, which will initially double the state’s investment impact. The state’s return on these investments will then be reinvested into the Wisconsin Investment Fund to generate more capital to fund additional Wisconsin companies.
The U.S. Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is providing the $50 million that will make up the state’s portion of the investment fund. Over the first years of the fund, WEDC expects to see a $500 million impact as the companies selected by the fund continue to grow.
The Wisconsin Investment Fund will invest in companies working in technology, health care, agriculture, manufacturing, and more.
We end today’s Key Reads with a link to an informative sports podcast, which covers a topic of concern for every fan of college athletics.
Wisconsin fans fed up with transfer portal; could changes be coming? | The Wisconsin Sportscast
In this week’s episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates react to the NCAA agreeing to a historic settlement to end class-action lawsuits brought by student athletes.
Thousands of former and current college players will receive a share of nearly $2.8 billion in damages. The settlement also clears the way, for the first time, for schools to directly pay student athletes through shared revenue plans.
“It’s a first step in regaining control over what’s going on. Reform is needed. Right now, there are no guard rails on the transfer portal or NIL (name, image and likeness) money,” says Oates, a former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. “Coaches and administrators will take as much slack as you give them. NIL is so out of control, it’s unbelievable. Something has to be done.”
The MPS story is one to watch, even if the endgame is predictable. As folks lose their jobs or receive a cut in pay over these mistakes, promises will be made. Subject matter experts will be consulted. Meanwhile the failing district will continue to fail yet another generation of kids in the state’s largest city. They, and we, deserve better.
