MPS could be docked $35 million to $50 million in aid due to errors, DPI estimates

Milwaukee Public Schools could be docked between $35 million and $50 million in state aid for the next school year due to previous accounting errors by the district, according to initial estimates that the state Department of Public Instruction provided to the Journal Sentinel on Thursday afternoon.

An exact, reliable figure for the aid reduction remained elusive Thursday as state officials said they were still in a "review process" and the numbers could change.

The news came as Milwaukee School Board members prepared to vote on a budget for the next school year at a meeting Thursday night.

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

Jilly Gokalgandhi, vice president of the board and chair of the board's budget committee, said the board needed to get a budget plan in place, and would consider changes to that budget plan after DPI provides an update on the district's state aid.

"This budget will change as DPI provides us with more information on what the real impact will look like for the district," she said. "We know it's a serious impact, and so as we get more information, we will share more information."

If the state aid is reduced, the school board will have some options. It could make budget cuts, raise local property taxes to offset the reduction in state aid, dip into the district's savings, or use some combination of those options, according to staff at the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

Gokalgandhi said the board would be "looking for solutions that do not impact the taxpayers," acknowledging that those solutions could include future budget cuts.

"I think across the board, we are feeling like we want to evaluate scenarios within our current budgetary abilities and powers to make sure that the taxpayers of Milwaukee are not impacted," Gokalgandhi said.

Chris Bucher, communications officer for the state Department of Public Instruction, said the errors by MPS may have included grant dollars being coded into the wrong year, journal entries without complete documentation and incorrectly coded revenues and expenditures.

The estimated aid reduction of $35 million-$50 million is the closest that staff could "approximate at this time," Bucher said, adding that the amount was subject to change as staff gain more information.

"The department continues to work diligently to bring more clarity to this number as quickly as possible," Bucher said.

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

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS could be docked $35M-$50M in aid due to errors, DPI estimates