State Releases $16 Million Withheld from Milwaukee Public Schools
State Superintendent Jill Underly says MPS made progress on financial reports.
A sign for Milwaukee Public Schools is displayed Monday, July 7, 2025, outside of Westside Academy in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Milwaukee Public Schools have received more than $16 million in state aid that was being held back because of missing financial reports.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly announced Wednesday the money was released. The funds are tied to fiscal year 2022-23 programs for special education and for students who are raising children of their own.
In a statement, Underly said MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius and the district have “taken meaningful steps to strengthen its systems and make progress on the corrective action plan.”
Underly said the release of the money “is a reflection of the strides made so far.”
According to the statement, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction expects to release another $25 million in state aid in the coming weeks when external auditors submit their final reports to the state for the 2023-24 fiscal year and after a review of the district’s plans for improvement are approved.
DPI first notified MPS in May 2024 that it could lose millions of dollars in state funding because it missed reporting deadlines for required financial reports to the state. The money was ultimately held back after the district failed to submit the reports.
The ensuing scandal led to the resignation of former Superintendent Keith Posley, state audits of district management practices and the creation of a 29-page corrective action plan to address problems in the district’s office of finance and management.
Cassellius was hired in March to replace Posley. In her time with MPS, she has focused on updating the district’s financial systems based on findings of the state audit, while also dealing with the fallout of a lead poisoning crisis that forced the temporary closing of several schools.
In a statement, Cassellius said she was grateful for the support of DPI officials in working with MPS to improve the district’s financial reporting systems. She also thanked the district’s finance team.
“For too long they have been working without the support and technology necessary to run an efficient operation,” she said.
According to DPI, when the $25 million in remaining funding is released it will represent the full release of all the funding being withheld by the state.
State releases $16M in funds withheld from Milwaukee Public Schools was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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