Milwaukee School Board will take public comments on budget Thursday

Responding to calls from residents to be heard by the Milwaukee School Board amid the school district's turmoil, the board published notice that it will allow public comments at its meeting Thursday night before board members plan to vote on the district's budget for the next school year.

"We recognized the need for community voice, and we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to comment," said Jilly Gokalgandhi, vice president of the board and chair of the board's budget committee. "We hear you, we value you, and we want the community to feel included in the process."

The school board had originally scheduled Thursday's meeting without opportunities for public comments at the meeting. City officials and community members, including Ald. Scott Spiker and Black Educators Caucus Chair Angela Harris, called on board members to either open the meeting for public comments or resign.

While community members have already been able to speak at previous budget meetings, Gokalgandhi said board members understood why they would want another opportunity. After revelations about financial reporting problems in the district, board members and officials as high as Gov. Tony Evers have been working to better understand the state of the district.

"It's a dynamic situation that's changing, and we're continuing to be responsive with the information that we know and have, and being flexible to the current situation," she said.

How do you attend or speak at the MPS board meeting?

The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. at the district's Central Office, 5225 W. Vliet St., and streamed on the district's YouTube page. It is open to the public.

Those who wish to speak can do so in person at the meeting by filling out a registration slip in the lobby. Alternatively, speakers can register by 3 p.m. Thursday to speak remotely via the board's virtual platform by calling 414-475-8200 or registering online. Written testimony can also be submitted to [email protected].

Where does the MPS budget stand?

Since Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Keith Posley presented his budget plan in late April, school board members have held a series of public meetings about the plan and made amendments to save some staff positions that Posley planned to cut.

The budget plan as it stands, which is attached to Thursday's meeting agenda, would cut nearly 300 staff positions for the next school year. While MPS leaders say the district's referendum saved them from much deeper cuts, it was not enough to fully close the deficit the district faces due, in part, to inflation.

Board members had been slated to vote on the budget May 30, but that changed after they and the public found out that administrators had failed to submit key financial reports to state officials for over eight months. The board delayed that vote, then scheduled a vote for this Thursday.

Since then, Posley resigned, and MPS comptroller Alfredo Balmaseda said he was fired. A new financial consultant is helping MPS create a corrective action plan to prove to state officials that the district should continue receiving tax dollars despite being months behind on its annual audit.

Board members said MPS gave the state Department of Public Instruction a new draft of that corrective action plan Tuesday. They said it was a "collaborative effort" between the financial consultant, DPI and three MPS offices: Finance; Accountability and Efficiency; and Audit Services.

While some have called for another delay on the board's budget vote, MPS Chief Financial Officer Martha Kreitzman told board members they must approve a budget by the end of June. School districts are allowed to make adjustments to their budgets later in the year, after DPI determines how much aid they will get.

Gokalgandhi said it's important that the board approve a budget so administrators and staff can plan for the year ahead.

"This is still a working budget," she said. "It's still going to be responsive to what changes come from DPI," she said. "It has to be flexible, yet at the same time, our school communities, our educators, our kids, our principals need to know operationally what they are are to expect. So we also have that responsibility."

Contact Rory Linnane at [email protected]. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @RoryLinnane. 

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee School Board will take public comments on budget Thursday