MILWAUKEE — Progress for Milwaukee Public Schools, as Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius confirms to WTMJ that the district’s missing financial data from the 2023-2024 fiscal year has been submitted to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
Speaking exclusively to Wisconsin’s Morning News, Dr. Cassellius clarified that while DPI has what they need to run their calculations to determine state aid for MPS and school districts across Wisconsin, “our auditors still have to do their final touches on the audit, but the state doesn’t absolutely need that for that to be done.”
MPS had been delinquent in submitting financial reports to DPI, which forced millions in state aid to be withheld. In 2024, over $16 million in special education funding to the district for not submitting its 2023 financial reports. This caused the district to create a Corrective Action Plan for the documents’ submission, and ultimately the hiring of Dr. Cassellius.
This year, the district missed submitting financial reports on May 16, and was given an extension until May 30 by DPI, which it also missed. This forced the state to withhold over $42 million in aid from the district.
Dr. Cassellius says she’s been transparent with DPI about their challenges with report submissions, but “they’ve given us more time to do it right so we don’t have these problems next year. We’ve hired an outside vendor (MGT of America Consulting) to project manage our FY ’25 audit, and it’s really complicated and complex. And we’ve going to build a whole new system that speaks directly to the state system so we don’t see these errors again.”
Listen to the whole podcast for how Dr. Cassellius is addressing the district’s $100 million structural deficit, recruiting teachers, and future plans for Milwaukee Public Schools.
Milwaukee Public Schools released the following statement at 2:43 p.m. on June 18, 2025:
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) Superintendent Brenda Cassellius announced today the district has submitted the required financial reports for the 2023-24 fiscal year to the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) that will allow DPI to calculate state aid payments to Wisconsin school districts.
The submission of the reports is another step toward MPS receiving state aid withheld by DPI. The school district will continue to work with its external auditor and DPI for the final steps in the release of the funds.
“I am grateful to the Department of Public Instruction for its partnership with MPS and its assistance in wrapping up our 2024 financial reports,” said Dr. Cassellius. “I am especially thankful to the MPS staff who have been working day and night on these reports. They untangled long-standing issues in MPS systems, and we are positioning the district to be able to submit our 2025 financial reports in a timely manner.”
Under Dr. Cassellius, who joined MPS in March, and new Chief Finance Officer Aycha Sawa, the district has made progress in filing financial reports and initiating improved accounting processes.
MPS does not foresee any funds that have been temporarily withheld by DPI interrupting services to MPS students.
