Former Gov. Tommy Thompson calls on lawmakers to dissolve MPS over leadership crisis

MADISON – Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, who oversaw the launch and expansion of Wisconsin's taxpayer-funded voucher school program, said Wednesday lawmakers should again pursue dissolving the state's largest school district amid turmoil over Milwaukee Public Schools' finances and leadership.

His comments come as MPS school officials are under fire for financial mismanagement, leading to the resignation of Superintendent Keith Posley with a $160,000 severance payment and non-disparagement agreement and the departure of the district's comptroller.

Posley's resignation followed alarms raised by state and federal officials about failures of MPS leaders, including their financial reporting practices and oversight of the district's Head Start preschool programs.

"What we’re doing is, we’re failing. We’re failing the students that go to Milwaukee Public Schools. We’ve been failing those students for 30 to 40 years, and now is the time to change," Thompson said during a Milwaukee Press Club event.

Thompson, a Republican and the state's longest-serving governor, recalled his collaborations with Democrats and other political adversaries in efforts to solve problems during his tenure in office.

He likened that work to the historic bipartisan shared revenue deal reached last year by the Republican-led Legislature, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Milwaukee's Democratic mayor, Cavalier Johnson, and county executive, David Crowley. The law boosted funding to local governments and kept Milwaukee from entering a financial crisis by allowing city and county elected leaders to vote on local sales taxes.

Thompson said Johnson and Crowley should be among those involved in a Blue Ribbon Commission to study MPS "from the beginning to the end" and recommend solutions after a 90-day period.

"It needs to be split up or it needs to be taken over," Thompson said of the district. "It should not continue the way it is."

A previously proposed takeover of the district by the Milwaukee County executive failed, and Thompson said any similar effort should be studied before being considered.

The district has also opposed previous efforts to dissolve it and separate it into smaller districts.

In a statement on Tuesday, Johnson said he looks forward to working closely with the school board, the MPS Office of Accountability and Efficiency and DPI to "monitor their progress in bringing this matter to a close."

Johnson said there are approaches between the "extremes" of the status quo and a mayoral takeover that haven't been explored.

Asked about Thompson's comments on Wednesday, mayor's office spokesman Jeff Fleming said in an email that Johnson has noted he attended six elementary schools as a child, largely because his family moved multiple times.

"He pointed out that splitting the district would add an additional level of complexity for the students who change schools. And, that is a common occurrence among MPS children," Fleming said. "He said he can only imagine the stress his mother would have faced had she been required to reregister her children following an already complicated relocation."

The current issues with MPS include failing to submit required financial reports, some of which were due to the state Department of Public Instruction more than eight months ago. The district's errors in reported costs for the 2022-23 school year will likely result in a "significant reduction" in state general aid payments, according to DPI.

Additionally, the district's Head Start funding was cut after federal officials said they discovered incidents of maltreatment, physical abuse, verbal abuse and lack of supervision in the district's programs.

Rory Linnane and Alison Dirr of the Journal Sentinel contributed.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tommy Thompson calls on lawmakers to dissolve MPS