Gov. Evers names possible auditors of Milwaukee Public Schools
Gov. Tony Evers shared a first look Monday at who exactly might be conducting an audit of Milwaukee Public Schools' operations — an audit he called for as the school district reels from major accounting errors and the departure of Superintendent Keith Posley.
In a press release, Evers said the operational audit, and a subsequent audit of MPS' academic practices, were necessary to "fully identify the extent of the problems" in order to find solutions.
To move quickly, Evers said his office would be choosing an auditor from a list of companies that have already been vetted through another state contract, a consulting contract for the UW System.
Those companies are:
Baker Tilly, which is already working on MPS' overdue financial audit
The firms will have through June 24 to submit proposals for the audit. The Department of Administration will oversee the selection process, according to Britt Cudaback, Evers' office's communications director.
The operational audit will examine the district's financial management, workflow, job duties of key positions, and staff retention. It will also look at improving transparency between administrators and the school board, MPS families and the public.
Evers is also pursuing a separate audit of the district's instructional practices, including classroom learning environments, staff training, curriculum and leadership.
Evers previously told reporters he hopes to see both audits done within six months, but added: "You never know with those types of things."
"We want it to be a really, really deep, deep, deep dive for these two firms that are going to be doing that," Evers said, according to a transcript provided by Cudaback. "And on the educational side, that’s going to mean they’re going to have to talk to a lot of people: parents, teachers, everybody — as many people as they can in the Milwaukee area."
Cudaback said the timelines, and costs, will depend on what they hear from potential auditors.
A previous press release said funding would come from "federal dollars available between underspending of previously awarded contracts and funding already allocated for Milwaukee that has not yet been spent." Cudaback hasn't provided further details about the funding sources.
After proposing the idea for audits June 7, Evers said he decided to move forward when the plan won support from state Superintendent Jill Underly, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and Milwaukee School Board members, among others.
In a statement Monday, Milwaukee School Board President Marva Herndon said the board welcomed the auditing.
“We, too, are committed to identifying root causes of district challenges so they can be addressed moving forward," Herndon said in the statement.
Evers said the audits will mark the first examination of MPS of its kind since an initiative 15 years ago, when then-Mayor Tom Barrett and then-Gov. Jim Doyle obtained an independent evaluation of MPS' finances and operations.
While Evers' audits get underway, MPS will also be carrying out a corrective action plan, overseen by the state Department of Public Instruction, to fix urgent vacancies and flaws in the district's finance office. MPS is seeking a new superintendent, chief financial officer and comptroller, among many other positions.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gov. Evers names possible auditors of Milwaukee Public Schools
