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Charles Edward Miller (CC-BY-SA)
The Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Trustees unanimously approved the 2024-25 budget Tuesday night, which includes $43 million in state fines related to financial mismanagement discovered this spring. There is.
MPS passed a $1.5 billion interim budget in June, but it had to be adjusted based on the amount of state aid the district receives.
District leaders knew the school system was facing a deficit. With all the numbers crunched, the actual budget shortfall is just under $10 million, district officials said Tuesday.
District officials said they would offset the deficit with collections from social service funds rather than seek a tax increase.
“The Milwaukee Board of Education is using the budget to maintain our commitment to the public not to increase property taxes beyond the amount approved by the 2024 referendum and passed in the Superintendent’s Budget in June. ,” the school district announced.
Passing the referendum meant a $432 tax increase for a $200,000 homeowner.
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The total MPS tax bill this year is $414.8 million, an increase of about 30 percent from December 2023, when the tax bill was $320.2 million.
The state withdrew $42.6 million in state aid from payments to school districts in September due to district reporting errors for the 2022-23 school year.
General school aid is part of a complex school district budget that also includes property taxes and federal funds.
MPS learned on October 15 that general state aid will decrease by about 7.7% this year. The total amount the district will receive is $587.1 million, about 40% of the district’s budget.
In April, voters narrowly approved a $252 million referendum.
The referendum will bring an additional $140 million into the district this year, but MPS started the year with a $200 million budget shortfall.
The budget approved in June included about 288 staff cuts.
A month after the $252 million referendum passed, Milwaukee residents learned that MPS was not submitting financial data to the state. As a result, administrators, including Superintendent Keith P. Posley, resigned or were fired. A corrective action plan was created and revealed inexperience in the finance department, understaffing, and outdated accounting systems.
After news of fiscal mismanagement came to light, some taxpayers expressed anger and outrage at the approval of the referendum.
To avoid having to raise property taxes again to cover a $10 million budget hole, MPS officials are tapping into the district’s social service funds.
The district plans to move about $11 million from that fund into its general operating fund.
The school district says doing so will not affect taxpayers.
Taxpayers are affected in other ways
This year, the city will fill the hole in the budget by moving money from the Community Services Fund to the General Operating Fund, but some of the funding for the fund comes from property taxes.
Last fall, when considering the district’s final budget for the 2024 school year, the MPS Board of Education increased the district’s community fund levy by $77.7 million, from $34.7 million to $112.4 million, according to a report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum. It was decided to increase the amount.
On Tuesday, MPS officials said the balance in the Community Services Fund is approximately $100 million.
MPS officials told a policy forum last year that more than $40 million in community funds would be spent to build a new recreational community center and aquatic facility at the former Browning School and Browning Athletic Field. The center has been in the planning stages since 2018.
The district previously considered issuing debt for the project, but announced in spring 2024 that it would pay in cash to avoid interest charges. District officials said at the time that remaining funds in the fund would be used to address unrepaired needs at other recreational facilities owned by MPS.
Milwaukee city officials said Tuesday that plans for the recreational community center and aquatic facility did not include them, even though the site is city-owned land.
Neighborhood Services Department spokesman Jeremy McGovern said, “The mayor’s office has not been consulted about this project.” “Work cannot begin until the appropriate permits are applied for.”
13 schools could close or consolidate as part of long-term facilities plan
The board also discussed in detail the district’s preliminary long-range facility plans. The 10-year plan is the result of community meetings held over the past few months.
The district cannot afford to keep its 149 school buildings open as student numbers continue to decline.
The external consultant’s report was released on Friday. Schools were categorized into multiple categories, including buildings that could be expanded, consolidated or closed.
Thirteen schools, mostly located on the city’s north side, are candidates for possible closure or consolidation.
The schools are at less than 50% capacity, have seen declining enrollment over the past five years, and are less than a mile from another school with lower enrollment, the district said.
There will be no school closures or consolidations this year or during the 2025-26 school year.
Milwaukee Public Schools passes $1.5 billion budget This article was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
