MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Public Schools has released the second version of its draft Corrective Action Plan that the district has submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for approval. DPI rejected MPS’ first submission of a draft plan last week.
The plan includes details on what the district is doing to gather and submit overdue financial reports to DPI and some of the challenges the finance staff is facing. A major hang-up is the fact that MPS’ finance system, called BusinessPlus, is not integrated with the WISEdata system used at DPI.
The plan laments the “limited experience” of the finance staff in completing the annual report for 2023 and the certified budget data for 2024. The district said the budget data relies on only one person with the knowledge to complete it.
The district’s records also rely heavily on Excel spreadsheets, something the plan notes as a potential source of errors.
The other major challenge for the finance staff highlighted in the plan are the “key vacancies in the Financial Reporting service area,” with the district saying it is actively recruiting to fill twelve vacant roles in the finance department.
MPS also acknowledged that the Chief Financial Officer position is “being evaluated with a likelihood of a change in leadership.” The job is currently held by Martha Kreitzman, but the plan said that efforts to find an interim replacement are already underway.
Changes the plan will make to the district’s operations include providing monthly updates about integrating MPS’ financial system into DPI’s, providing updated data for federal and state grants at least quarterly, and improving training for the finance staff.
The plan also includes a major overhaul of the MPS internal audit system. A five-member independent audit committee would be established, made up of one MPS Board of School Directors member and four external audit professionals with input from the mayor’s office, All committee members would be appointed by the MPS Board.
The plan still needs approval from DPI before going into effect. If it’s approved, the state could release a $16 million state aid payment that is currently on hold because the overdue reports.
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