MILWAUKEE — A new $500,000 private fund has been launched to support the immediate priorities of Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius. The fund, announced May 12 by the Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC), is being called the Superintendent Leader Impact Fund and is backed by major donors including Herb Kohl Philanthropies, Baird, Bader Philanthropies, Rockwell Automation, WE Energies, Northwestern Mutual, and several other prominent corporations.
The fund is intended to fast-track initiatives such as rebuilding public trust, enhancing staff, enrollment progression, and improving internal culture within MPS. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation will administer the fund, ensuring that resources are allocated in alignment with its intended purposes.
“Now, this support is important and hopefully sets a tone about renewed partnership, shared accountability, shared responsibility,” says President of the Greater Milwaukee Committee Joel Brennan.
“While it doesn’t guarantee that we’ll be able to make all the necessary changes and do everything we need to honor kids with a stronger future, it provides Dr. Cassellius with an opportunity to bring outside expertise to build or rebuild infrastructure that has lacked inside MPS for some time. It’s a start, but it’s in no way the end, because the bottom line in any private fundraising effort and the collaborative work that’s underway with Dr. Cassellius is ultimately how we invest more wisely in classrooms, teachers, and kids, and how ultimately we deploy public resources in ways that result in dramatically better outcomes.”
Dr. Cassellius stated she was grateful for the assistance.
“I am just so grateful for the community continuing to invest in Milwaukee Public Schools. I’m really grateful for their belief and the hope that I think that we’re building across the city and everybody that offers to step up to the plate and help out.”
Community and business leaders involved say this is about helping MPS build momentum and rebuild public trust as Dr. Casellius steps into her role.
