This Time Must Be Different
Breaking the Cycle of MPS's Generational Failure Demands Real Change
The fundamental job of a school district is to educate students. On this most basic measure, Milwaukee Public Schools has failed for generations.
Last month's NAEP results placed MPS in the bottom three among urban districts nationwide – and last for Black students. These failings, documented since the 1970s, reverberate across generations and sit at the root of many challenges our city faces today.
Yet, we haven’t been able to have the conversation that our city must have – how do we better educate all of our students, across all of the schools they attend – because we’ve instead been mired in a cascading series of crises at our city’s largest school operator, Milwaukee Public Schools.
The Governor's operational audit, released last week, lays bare what many of us have long known: MPS, particularly its Central Office administration, is profoundly broken. The audit findings indicate a serious decline in core functions like HR, IT, and Finance, along with a troubled relationship between the School Board and Central Office. This is worsened by a “culture of fear” and ongoing instability in leadership.
We've watched the consequences of this play out in real-time - including just in the last week:
Lead contamination discovered at multiple schools, with the facilities chief found to have been operating without required licenses
Ongoing non-compliance with statutory requirements despite looming court deadline
Further senior leadership turnover, with both Comptroller and HR Chief resigning amid audit implications
Too many of us in Milwaukee have seen this movie before: a damning report, somber statements, a new superintendent - followed by fading urgency as the report joins others gathering dust. This time must be different - for our students and our future. Academically and financially, our city cannot afford another bad replay. We must hold leaders accountable for ensuring these issues aren't swept under the rug and that true change happens.
The selection of Dr. Brenda Cassellius as MPS’ next superintendent is a necessary first step, but it's far from sufficient. We all want to see her succeed, as her success means more Milwaukee students being well-educated and prepared to thrive. We must also be clear-eyed about the challenges she’ll be confronting. No superintendent alone can undo the consequences of decades of dysfunction and decay across our city’s public school district.
The solutions must be structural – and they must go beyond simply sending more money into the morass, as some politicians have already called for. MPS’ problems aren’t about insufficient funding. Following two voter-approved local property tax increases, MPS is now a top-ten district in state funding support, with per-pupil “core” funding exceeding most surrounding suburban districts. MPS’s $1.5 billion annual budget makes it the largest and best-funded unit of local government anywhere in Wisconsin.
Our recent polling confirms that Milwaukee residents understand the gravity of the situation and are ready for real change:
For every one resident who gives MPS high marks (A or B), five rate the district as failing or near-failing (D or F).
Nearly 80% say they very concerned about MPS's worst-in-the-nation NAEP results, and 74% are troubled by stagnant academic outcomes despite MPS’ ballooning budget.
At City Forward Collective, our call for change has been clear and consistent since this round of the story first broke last summer. We need complete transparency and accountability, with clear timelines and deadlines for implementing all audit findings - and real consequences for noncompliance.
Most crucially, we need the Governor and the Mayor to lead, working with the legislature to enact evidence-backed and voter-supported structural reforms to MPS governance, including:
Moving MPS School Board elections to the fall
Shifting to more citywide, at-large school board seats, and
Adding appointed members to the School Board, with specific expertise to address MPS’ broken systems and governance.
These are essential and appropriate tools for ensuring MPS has the leadership talent, structure, and public trust needed to tackle the difficult work ahead. We can’t afford to fall (again) for the political rhetoric about a “takeover” or this being some ruse for a privatization scheme.
The time for real change is not next year, after the next report, or for the next generation of students. Hope is not a strategy, and “Milwaukee nice” deflection has only driven us deeper into this abyss. The time for decisive leadership and bold action is now.