MILWAUKEE, Wis. — For weeks now, the whistle's been blown by former and current Milwaukee Public School employees about what's really going on inside the Interscholastic Athletics Office.
In early October, two high school football teams were forced to forfeit wins after administration failed to file the proper paperwork. Two weeks ago, we told you about game officials and referees who weren't being paid on time.
Now, a new investigation reveals coaches haven't been getting paid on time either.
"We've been told by coaches that they are not being paid. We've been told by parents that their coaches are not being paid or had not been paid for several months. How do you know this information, and can you talk to me a little bit about that," Reporter Jenna Rae asked former MPS athletics commissioner Jan Doleschal.
"Because I've been told by people within MPS who are either coaches or athletic directors that they haven't been paid," Doleschal responded.
It's a story we've been hearing for weeks now.
"It's something that I enjoy. I love working with our kids, but at the same time, this is not something I can afford to do for free," one coach said.
"Coaches don't coach for the money, but I think it's irresponsible for having coaches sign a contract and then that contract not being fulfilled in a timely manner," another coach said.
Watch: Former and current MPS employees blow the whistle on coaches not getting paid
TMJ4 spoke to several coaches who wanted to remain anonymous.
"I've been told by parents of athletes and MPS that the coaches haven't been paid," Doleschal added.
Doleschal was MPS' athletics commissioner from 1973 to the early 2000's. She's been waving the flag of concern since early October.
"Milwaukee is the biggest school district in the state of Wisconsin. We outta be setting the example for everybody else. This is the poorest example of how an athletic program should be run," Doleschal explained.
Coaches said they've worked most of this fall sports season without a paycheck.
"People are dropping the ball in certain places that are affecting these kids," the first coach said.
"I think there should be change at the top," the second coach added.
The coaches we talked to said they noticed an issue with pay when the old athletics commissioner, Bill Molbeck, retired.
"How frequently are you not getting paid on time as a coach," Rae asked the first coach.
"Pretty much every season," he responded.
Emails between administrators show these two coaches aren't the only ones. However, district officials in those emails are pointing the blame back at the coaches.
"We always had a rules test we had to take, and make sure we show proof of being CPR certified, and first aid certified," the second coach said.
It's documentation these coaches said they thought they submitted, only to find out months later the district didn't have.
Which in most cases, is the commissioner's reasoning for coaches not receiving pay.
"We've had that happen before where we go well through the season without getting paid, and we find out because we're trying to reach to whoever, and they finally contact us and let us know 'oh you're not getting paid because you don't have your first aid in or you're not getting paid because you didn't take the WIAA rules test'," the first coach explained.
When we interviewed the first coach last week, he said he hadn't been paid for the entire football season, which is now over. He said he believes the district is "working on it."
"I don't do it for the pay, obviously. It's something I enjoy and love working with our kids, but at the same time, this is not something I can afford to do for free," he said.
"You sign a contract, and you are doing your part to fulfill the contract, and then the other aspect of the contract isn't being fulfilled. So, that's frustrating and it's frustrating when you talk to other coaches around the district and it's the same story," the second coach added.
In early October, we asked to talk with the current Athletics Commissioner Bobbie Kelsey. District officials said she couldn't talk because incidents involving her office are under investigation.
We've repeatedly asked to talk with Kelsey's supervisor, Lynn Greb. The district has not made anyone available for an interview and either responded with a statement via email or didn't respond to our inquiries at all.
During a recent interview with Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan, we asked about complaints of dysfunction in the Interscholastic Athletics Office.
Galvan paused, made a face and looked at the district's spokesperson several times before answering.
"We're going to make sure there are procedure and guidelines in place so that this doesn't happen again, and we also wanna make sure that all of our students, all of our coaches, know what their responsibilities are, and we'll carry out end as well," Galvan said.
Over the last few weeks since we've been investigating and asking questions, we're now learning several referees and coaches have been at least partially paid.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
