{"id":15903,"date":"2025-03-27T13:54:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T14:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=15903"},"modified":"2025-03-27T15:07:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T15:07:14","slug":"public-records-reveal-how-supt-underlys-dpi-set-stage-for-mps-finance-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=15903","title":{"rendered":"Public Records Reveal How Supt. Underly\u2019s DPI Set Stage for MPS Finance Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/reforminggovernment.org\/public-records-reveal-how-supt-underlys-dpi-set-stage-for-mps-finance-crisis\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Delafield, Wis.<\/b> \u2013 New <\/span>public records<\/span><\/a> released Thursday by the Institute for Reforming Government\u2019s (IRG) Center for Investigative Oversight reveal how the Department of Public Instruction\u2019s lenient enforcement of Milwaukee Public Schools\u2019 2024 finance deadlines set up different, more destructive outcomes than DPI\u2019s stricter enforcement in previous years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Superintendent Underly\u2019s DPI released the <\/span>records<\/span><\/a> March 5, 2025, <\/span>8 months after IRG\u2019s June 17, 2024<\/b>, request. DPI fulfilled the complete records request only after IRG, represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, threatened legal action.<\/span><\/p>\n

WHY IT MATTERS<\/b><\/p>\n

DPI took a gentler approach with MPS than other school districts in years past, despite accurate financial documents being essential to determining state aid for all Wisconsin school districts. DPI has the ability to withhold funding if districts miss deadlines.<\/span><\/p>\n

DPI said withholding funds due to missing finance deadlines is a rare occurrence, despite enforcing said deadlines in the past. After MPS missed a December 2022 deadline, <\/span>DPI took threats of withheld aid payments directly to the MPS Board as early as February 2023 following late finance paperwork. <\/b>DPI previously withheld payments from other districts in March 2020 under former Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor. This is a <\/span>stark difference from DPI\u2019s gentler approach to MPS in 2024.<\/b><\/p>\n

As DPI waited far too long to play hardball, former MPS Superintendent Keith Posley mismanaged the district, leading to his <\/span>resignation<\/span><\/a>, MPS operations <\/span>reviews<\/span><\/a>, and a Legislative Audit Bureau <\/span>audit<\/span><\/a> of DPI\u2019s compliance oversight.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE QUOTE:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIt took 8 months and a legal threat against DPI to uncover what role they played in the Milwaukee Public Schools finance crisis of 2024,\u201d <\/span>said Chris Reader, IRG Executive Vice President. <\/b>\u201cSuperintendent Underly\u2019s administration treated MPS with kid gloves, which financially hurt districts across Wisconsin. The Department of Public Instruction should have acted, and now it\u2019s clear the inaction hurt Wisconsin students.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KEY RECORDS<\/b><\/p>\n