UPDATE 8/27/2024 9:15 PM: Wauwatosa School District board members voted to make research about a proposed merger with some Milwaukee Public Schools public during Tuesday night’s meeting.
That research was previously kept private due to client-attorney privilege.
“Any kind of a merger investigation, or concept, or thinking… the community should know about,” said board member Michael Meier via TMJ4 News.
The idea comes as a $60-million dollar referendum to keep all of the district’s nine elementary schools will appear on the ballot in November.
WAUWATOSA, Wis. — Community members gathered for the Wauwatosa School District’s first public school board meeting since a $4+ million budget accounting error was revealed with school board members and Wauwatosa educational leaders pledging to do better.
As previously reported by our news partners at TMJ4, Wauwatosa School District’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Scot Ecker found the errors soon after entering his role. He claimed that the error resulted from oversight from the previous person in this role.
“I have worked with over 100 school districts in my career,” Ecker said via TMJ4. “This is the first time, I’ve seen anything like this where the CFO didn’t present an updated budget over 13 months.”
The Wauwatosa School District spent $8 million more than their budget allocated — although Ecker and School Board Members insist the money was not spent fraudulently or used toward non-school-related matters.
To chip away at the $4 million budget deficit, the Wauwatosa School Board approved increases to employee health insurance premiums, which would account for an estimated $1.3 million while increasing the cost of health care for teachers and faculty. Other potential routes that were discussed included borrowing money from the state and leaving vacant positions open, TMJ4 reported.
With both school districts reportedly observing reduced enrollment and birth rates, another option that was discussed entailed the Wauwatosa School District absorbing some schools from Milwaukee Public Schools — an option that was reportedly put on the table last week.
Tonight (Tuesday, August 27, 2024), another public, special board meeting is scheduled, where community members are expected to learn about external legal opinions on the situation, which could inform the path forward. You can click here to learn more about that meeting.
This is a developing news story. An update and/or follow-up will be issued as further details are revealed.
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