What Milwaukee council members are saying about the MPS financial crisis

Milwaukee Common Council members on Tuesday expressed frustration at revelations about Milwaukee Public Schools' financial mismanagement but also offered differing views on appropriate next steps.

Over the last two weeks, MPS has seen fallout following the revelation that the district failed to provide key financial reports to the state, some of which were due more than eight months ago.

The accounting crisis led Superintendent Keith Posley to resign last week after a heated and lengthy meeting, the comptroller to be ousted, the state to suspend a $16.6 million state aid payment and the state Department of Public Instruction to express displeasure at a draft corrective action plan the district created to prove to state officials that MPS should continue receiving tax dollars.

The district has recruited a financial consultant to help it navigate its financial challenges while Gov. Tony Evers has proposed two new audits and Mayor Cavalier Johnson along with city Comptroller Bill Christianson have pledged their assistance with getting the district back on track.

Here's what Milwaukee council members had to say in reaction:

Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic: Allow time for MPS to act

"I think right now we've got to give them some time and space to take the corrective action that they set forward. It doesn't happen overnight," said Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, who chairs the council's powerful Finance and Personnel Committee.

For city leaders, she said, it is important focus on the root causes of issues like poverty, housing and violence that lead to challenges in classrooms.

Ald. Larresa Taylor: 'Checks and balances should be in place'

Ald. Larresa Taylor, a former MPS special education teacher, said regarding Posley that people in a leadership position like the one he held are responsible for ensuring the organization is functioning correctly.

“I’m not being accusatory, I’m just saying that checks and balances should be in place and open communication with the public should also be,” she said.

Taylor also described the district’s hierarchy as “top-heavy.”

“We have a superintendent, we have regional superintendents, we have school board members — who is really watching out for our kids?” she asked. “That’s a lot of people for us to not be doing our very best, to not have all of our schools succeeding.”

Ald. Sharlen Moore: Delay enacting referendum

Ald. Sharlen Moore emphasized accountability for MPS as the district moves forward and said she was disappointed to learn that MPS had gotten to this point. Moore said that the school board should not enact the full April referendum, instead saying they should wait on further action until they get accurate information on finances.

In response to Johnson saying he wants to be more involved with MPS, Moore said experts, educators and parents should also be consulted and included in the decision-making process.

"I'm always for making sure that the people that are most impacted are also the people that are helping making decisions," Moore said. "I think it's going to be important for leadership such as our mayor to speak on the issue, but make sure that they're using experts to really guide how we go about making future decisions."

Council President José Perez: Not time for city to take control

Common Council President José G. Pérez said that as an MPS parent and an elected official he needs "transparency and communication" from the school district.

Pérez said that based on the information he has now the council and the Mayor's Office should not have more control over MPS. He also said he doesn't see at this point why MPS should not implement the full referendum.

"I'm hoping as this moves forward, that myself and other council members are always engaged in what's going on, and we've asked all the entities who want audits and to dig into the deep finances to make sure we're in the loop on this," Pérez said.

Alds. Scott Spiker and Lamont Westmoreland: 'Distressing'

Alds. Scott Spiker and Lamont Westmoreland in an earlier statement called the news of MPS's delayed financial reports "disappointing," "distressing," and "maddening." Westmoreland said in a separate statement soon after the revelations surfaced that he was "disgusted and embarrassed by the ongoing failures within Milwaukee Public Schools" and that he was looking into local and state government oversight possibilities.

Spiker has called on the School Board not to enact the full referendum approved by voters in April and said Monday that board members should resign if they are not willing to hold a public hearing on the district's budget ahead of a Thursday vote.

On Tuesday afternoon, the board announced it would be allowing public comment on the budget before a possible vote.

Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. Tristan Hernandez can be reached at thernandez@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What Milwaukee council members are saying about the MPS crisis