What a phenomenal weekend, weather wise. We hope you and yours were able to get out and enjoy it.

We were able to fire up the grill and spend time with family, and that always is a nice reset button after a hectic week. We all know what it is like to have pressing demands and deadlines that must be met and it’s nice to take a break from the grind.

We begin today’s Key Reads with a Dairyland Sentinel exclusive story about people who feel no such sense of urgency: The Milwaukee Public Schools’ Board of Directors.

There is no sense of urgency at MPS. Nearly two months after their former leader resigned under a cloud, the district has yet to begin their search for his full time replacement. The timeline, process and cost of the search is also still unknown…

Not in a hurry: MPS has yet to engage a firm to search for a new Superintendent | Dairyland Sentinel

Former Milwaukee Public Schools’ superintendent Dr. Keith Posley announced his resignation on June 4, 2024. As now, MPS has yet to begin their search for his replacement.

MPS is the largest school district in Wisconsin. Faced with terrible student test cores and an abysmal graduation rate it is among the most troubled districts in the nation.

Even before the state conducts audits of the district’s finances and practices, it is certain MPS will have to return tens of millions of state aid dollars that were incorrectly sent to hem by the Department of Public Instruction.

Earlier this year, the federal Head Start program alerted the district of their concerns regarding competency and safety. Fearing a loss of program revenue, MPS was forced to make alternative arrangements for many of the City’s three-year-olds..

The MPS School Board of Directors has indicated finding the right person who is willing and able to lead such a troubled district could take some time, and the current interim superintendent, appointed Thursday, could be at the helm for the entire upcoming school year.

But there is no sense of urgency to fill the top job on a permanent basis.

Nearly two weeks ago, Dairyland Sentinel asked the district governance leaders a series of questions regarding the search for a new superintendent. We wanted to know the process for selecting a search firm, the budget for such a search, how the field of candidates would be narrowed, and if there were any deadlines for the various steps in the search process.

Ten days after our inquiry, the MPS Office of Board Governance got back to us. They let us know that as July turns to August, nothing has been done about the search for a new leader for MPS.

“The information you have asked for has not yet been determined by the Board,” MPS’ Office of Board Governance said in a July 26th email. “The Board is moving forward with determining a search firm.” 

As for a timeline, the board was just as forthcoming: “Information will be provided as it becomes available.”

Their blanket response was given as a reply to the following five questions posed by Dairyland Sentinel on July 16, 2024.

  1. What is the budget for the Superintendent search?  
  2. Do you have a timeline for determining which search firm to use and when do you expect the contract to be signed?
  3. Will you look for a pool of finalists or one candidate? 
  4. If you task the search firm to bring forward more than one candidate, at what point do you hope to have a final decision? 
  5. And when would the new superintendent begin at MPS?

So, nearly two months after the former Superintendent resigned under a cloud, the State of Wisconsin’s largest and most troubled school district has yet to begin a search for a replacement. Parents of MPS students and the rest of the general public have no idea how long a search could take, and nobody knows the potential cost of the search process.

Maybe MPS has no sense of urgency because it knows their new Interim Superintendent can’t leave to take a similar post in any other Wisconsin school district…

New MPS interim superintendent doesn’t have license to be a superintendent | CBS58

The newly appointed leader of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) does not have a license to be a superintendent, state records show. However, a carve-out in Wisconsin law will allow Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan to lead MPS even though he could not legally serve as superintendent of any other Wisconsin school district.

…While Galvan served in the upper levels of MPS administration, he said he should not be considered an extension of former Superintendent Keith Posley, who resigned in June amid a fiscal scandal that will cost MPS an estimated $42.6 million. 

…MPS’ previous Chief Financial Officer, Martha Kreitzman, oversaw a fiscal mess that saw the district provide late and inaccurate data to the DPI. The bad financial reporting led to overpayments in state aid, totaling an estimated $42.6 million, which the state will now take away from MPS’ 2024-25 state aid. Kreitzman was not licensed as a business manager, and she was not a certified CPA. 

The Packers went all in on the Jordan Love plan. It’s an obscene amount of money to play a game. But it will be money well spent if (and when) Love delivers another Lombardi Trophy to Titletown.

Packers sign Jordan Love to reported $220M contract extension | WPR

Quarterback Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers have agreed to a four-year, $220 million contract extension, a record-tying deal that will make him one of the highest paid quarterbacks in NFL history.

The broad strokes of the deal were first reported Friday night by NFL insiders Adam Schefter of ESPN, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and Dianna Russini of The Athletic. 

…The deal includes $155 million in guaranteed money and a record $75 million signing bonus.

The deal, as reported, would keep Love in Green Bay through the 2028 season…

We’re happy to see this, and we pray that no anarchist protester ever decapitates this statute and tosses it in the lake. This is a well-deserved honor, as are all the official statues, memorials and monuments at the Wisconsin Capitol.

After years of planning, Vel Phillips statue unveiled outside WI Capitol | WMTV

Hundreds of people gathered at the Wisconsin Capitol Saturday to celebrate the unveiling of a historic sculpture that’s been in the works for years.

…Phillips was a key figure in the fight for social justice, equal housing and education rights. She was also the first African American woman to hold statewide executive office in Wisconsin.

Unless you work for MPS, we understand your need to get back to the to do list. That’s why we search online to bring you the best news nuggets to keep you informed, but not overwhelmed. Here’s to a great start to the week.

We’ll be back tomorrow with more Key Reads.