Gov. Evers Releases First of Two Independent Audits of Milwaukee Public Schools

Governor to provide resources to help ensure MPS can immediately begin addressing audit findings and implementing recommendations in both the immediate future and in the long term

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today released the first of two independent audits of Milwaukee Public Schools’ (MPS). This is the first of two comprehensive, independent audits that Gov. Evers directed with support of the local community following the district’s failure to submit statutorily required annual financial audit reports to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The audit report, released publicly today at the direction of the governor, relates to MPS’ operations, processes, and procedures and identifies three overarching goals for the district with nine associated objectives and 29 specific and actionable recommendations. Gov. Evers today also announced he will be providing resources to support MPS’ work to implement the operational audit findings for both the immediate future and in the long term.

“My focus from the beginning has been on doing what’s best for our kids by working to ensure MPS’ future improvement and success and to get answers for the parents and families, taxpayers, and the greater Milwaukee community concerned about their local schools,” said Gov. Evers. “At the end of the day, the bottom line for me in this effort has always been about identifying areas the district can improve to make sure our kids are set up for success. This audit is a critical next step for getting MPS back on track and, ultimately, improving outcomes for our kids, so I urge and expect the district to take these recommendations seriously and move forward quickly with implementing this audit’s findings.”

The governor last year announced he would be providing the necessary resources to conduct the two outside, independent audits of MPS and directed $5.5 million to support both efforts. Gov. Evers today announced he has directed the remainder of those resources—about $3 million—to help ensure MPS can immediately begin implementing the audit recommendations. The governor is also announcing an additional $5 million in the 2025-27 Executive Budget to provide ongoing support to address audit results and implement audit recommendations, including future recommendations included in the forthcoming instructional audit. The budget investments Gov. Evers will propose in the state biennial budget will only be awarded to the district if the state is satisfied the district has made substantial and sufficient progress implementing the audit results.

Last summer, Gov. Evers announced that MGT of America Consulting LLC had been selected by his administration to conduct an outside, independent audit of MPS and that he would commit the necessary resources to proceed with conducting operational and instructional audits of the district after the effort received support from area legislators, MPS School Board of Directors, and community leaders, among others. MGT’s team has direct experience working in public schools and includes a former educator, as well as experience conducting operational reviews and providing strategic support to school districts. In their response to the proposal, MGT committed to a “strategic, student-centered approach” in their work to make “evidence-based recommendations to improve central office effectiveness and efficiency.” MGT’s full report is available here.

According to MGT, “The motivation for this review is clear: MPS must make systemic changes to ensure that students—particularly the most vulnerable—are at the center of every decision. Ultimately, this work is in service of students, whose future success hinges on a district capable of delivering equitable, high-quality education.”

In its operational audit of MPS, MGT recommends MPS adopt three overarching goals with nine associated objectives and dozens of specific recommendations outlined below to catalyze academic excellence for all MPS students, including:

• Creating A Coherent Central System
  • restructure Central Office to streamline decision-making, clarify roles, and improve alignment across departments;
  • invest in the Office of Human Resources to enhance leadership, build capacity, address immediate needs, and sustain long-term growth; and
  • make targeted shifts to the Strategic Plan to focus on a select number of high-impact priorities with measurable outcomes.
• Fostering Meaningful Communication And Collaboration
  • improve collaboration between the MPS Board of Directors and district leadership to align efforts to better serve the Milwaukee community and its stakeholders;
  • bolster leadership and operations of the Department of Communications and Marketing by empowering departmental leadership to drive strategy with vision and expertise; and
  • enhance data management and utilization to ensure transparent, accurate communication and foster data-driven decision-making.
• Operating And Funding Strategically
  • maintain external accountability structures for continued support and progress monitoring during upcoming leadership changes, Board elections, and implementation of new systems;
  • invest in technological infrastructure and planning so that systems are equipped to operate efficiently and effectively in future technological landscapes; and
  • redesign key internal procedures to equip staff for success, including thoroughly re-evaluating reporting and grievance procedures as well as onboarding policies so MPS can transform organizational culture.

The MGT audit also identifies dozens of actionable recommendations for MPS:

• Clarify roles of independent offices by developing guiding documents to articulate the roles, responsibilities, and collaboration structures of the Office of Accountability and Efficiency, Office of Board of Governance, the MPS Board, and the MPS Administration;
• Evaluate departmental structures, ensuring logical reporting lines vertically by function;
• Hire a chief communications officer and chief operations officer with change management experience;
• Create a cross-functional role or team to be deployed on special projects;
• Conduct an external search to install new Human Resources leadership with the capability and willingness to shepherd comprehensive changes on an ambitious timeline;
• Expand departmental capacity by redesigning employee reporting processes, identifying high-leverage initiatives, and narrowing job scopes to transform culture and maximize employee contributions;
• Acquire external surge support to address immediate challenges and provide the flexibility needed to sustain progress during high-demand periods;
• Evolve MPS’ Strategic Plan by creating one cohesive document encapsulating cross-functional goals centered around student success;
• Explicitly link goals to student outcomes by drawing from peer-district examples;
• Create a district-wide implementation plan to facilitate cross-departmental collaboration and track progress toward strategic priorities;
• Conduct a “Superintendent Listening Tour” designed to help the newly installed superintendent better understand the district from the perspective of educators, scholars, families, and the community;
• Consolidate board and MPS District communication offices and align on priorities to ensure cohesive messaging across the district;
• Provide board governance training to help board members better understand their roles and develop actionable and realistic expectations of MPS Administration;
• Develop a comprehensive communications plan to ensure clarity, accessibility, and alignment with strategic priorities;
• Institutionalize knowledge management to ensure consistency and support more effective communication across departments;
• Leverage current facilities planning to identify communication gaps and opportunities for enhanced collaboration and messaging;
• Codify protocols to ensure consistency and enable data-driven decision-making;
• Create unified datasets to establish single sources of truth with complete information that can be used to evaluate the current landscape and plan for the future;
• Revamp the public-facing dashboard to fully align with the Strategic Plan;
• Invest in upskilling the Department of Research, Assessment, and Data through targeted training to augment capacity and expertise;
• Continue fully engaging with all DPI support offered through regular meetings and structured planning processes;
• Empower cross-functional leaders to identify additional areas of opportunity for increased DPI support and broader budgetary planning and partnership;
• Develop a five-year technology improvement roadmap focusing on a streamlined and efficient future state that aligns with organizational goals and priorities;
• Invest in technology infrastructure to allow synergy between DPI and MPS financial reporting software;
• Provide external change management support to ensure swift implementation of new systems organization-wide;
• Standardize computing programs to ensure departments are operating on a single cloud computing program;
• Redesign the onboarding process to ensure all new hires have a comprehensive orientation to departmental procedures, role-specific duties, and broader cultural norms and practices;
• Swiftly and thoroughly integrate the Comptroller and Grants Accounting Manager into the Office of Finance, ensuring the CFO has capacity to onboard both positions efficiently while carrying out her current duties; and
• Overhaul reporting and grievance policies to promote a workplace culture of collaboration and learning while disincentivizing retaliation.

The Evers Administration, at the direction of Gov. Evers, also pursued a second outside, independent audit relating to instructional policies and methodologies at MPS. The instructional audit will include a review of instructional policies and methodologies, which may include, for example, classroom learning environments, professional development policies, addressing external factors affecting classroom learning, and practices to support educators, among other areas. The instructional audit is ongoing and will be similarly publicly released upon its conclusion.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.