Tony Evers calls for audits of MPS amid crisis

MADISON - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is calling for new audits of the state's largest school district amid a financial crisis that led to the resignation of the district superintendent and pushed the state Department of Public Instruction to withhold millions in state funding.

Evers, who led the state DPI before being elected governor in 2018, said Friday a similar audit of Milwaukee Public Schools was pursued 15 years ago but the district has not been scrutinized in the same way since.

"The purpose of the outstanding MPS audit is to examine the district’s finances for the sole purpose of meeting statutory reporting requirements. That audit is critically important, but it is not comprehensive," Evers said in a statement.“I’m proposing today to go two steps further with two important goals: the first, to audit MPS’ programs and operations in their entirety, and the second, to audit the effectiveness of teaching and instruction of our kids in classrooms across the district."

Evers' Friday announcement comes after MPS lost a superintendent, a comptroller and nearly $17 million in state funding after failing to submit audited financial reports to the state to outline the district's financial position.

The former state superintendent told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Friday that MPS has likely never lost that much in state funding.

"If it did happen, it was a very small amount for a small issue," he said.

Jilly Gokalgandhi, vice president of the Milwaukee School Board, said she welcomed the governor's proposed audits, along with plans by city officials to help the district with its accounting.

"We are really appreciative of the governor's and the mayor's support," Gokalgandhi said. "We look forward to working in partnership to ensure the best outcomes for our kids and our families."

The district is scrambling to create a corrective action plan to prove to state officials that the district should continue receiving tax dollars despite being over eight months late on turning in the financial reports.

The first glimpse of that plan did not instill confidence. The state DPI, which reviewed two draft plans from the district this week, is not satisfied.

Associate Deputy State Superintendent Thomas McCarthy on the social platform X said the agency "made it clear we need a real plan, we are committed to help them get there, and we believe they understand what we need to be able to move forward."

Amid the district upheaval, some have called for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson to take over some of the distict operations in order to improve stability.

Evers said Friday he doesn't believe such a takeover is necessarily the answer but supports move involvement from the city and county governments.

"I know connecting the dots is important, so whatever we can do to make sure that this is an all-hands-on-deck solution," he said.

To that end, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement he supports Evers' audits.

"Our residents, families, and kids deserve action now," Crowley said. "Accountability and transparency are the way forward, and we need answers in order to address these challenges, identify solutions, and move forward."

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he spoke Friday morning with Evers regarding the audits.

"That's the sort of action, that's the sort of partnership that we need to improve schools," he said.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, the state Legislature's leading Republican, blasted Evers for the idea, however.

"And who do you think @govevers will suggest conducts the audits? The same failed DPI bureaucrats who allowed this to happen or his administration who wanted to dismantle the school choice system so all kids were forced into this MPS mess?" Vos said in a post on the social media platform X. "We need real reforms to the current mentality where MPS has been protecting the bureaucracy and Gov Evers has been advocating for shoveling hundreds of millions of dollars into this broken system."

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Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said he wanted the audit to be performed instead by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau rather than hiring auditors from outside existing state employees. “The LAB is more than capable of handling this important undertaking independently andtransparently without the use of outside contractors," he said in a statement. A spokeswoman for Evers did not immediately have a reaction to LeMahieu's request.

Evers does not need to obtain approval to hire the auditors, which would be paid for by federal funding received by the state, according to the governor's office.

The audits would produce "a comprehensive review and evaluation of the district’s systems, processes, and procedures to identify areas for improvement," and "a comprehensive review and analysis of instructional practices, methodologies, and policies, which may include, for example, reviews of school and classroom learning environments, professional development policies and practices, curriculum implementation, and leadership, among other areas."

"Parents and families, taxpayers, and the greater community rightfully have questions, and each and every one of those questions deserves honest and transparent answers," Evers said. "For any meaningful conversation about possible solutions to happen, the first step is to fully identify the extent of the problems. The audits I’m proposing today must be done to drive those future conversations."

Molly Beck and Rory Linnane can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gov. Tony Evers calls for audits of MPS amid financial crisis