MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools has some tough decisions to make after learning it’s expected to receive $81 million fewer dollars in state aid than last year.
The Department of Public Instruction says that figure breaks down into two categories.
$42.6 million is being recouped after the state overpaid the district due to MPS providing inaccurate financial reports last year. The rest is correcting the estimated amount the district is supposed to receive this year.
So what options does the district have to trim tens of millions of dollars? Our special reporting unit called Lighthouse wanted to find out.
TMJ4’s Ben Jordan contacted the school district Tuesday morning to request an interview. They told us no one would be available until next week due to the holiday. Jordan went directly to school board members to ask the questions we wanted answered. One of them was willing to have that conversation. His name is Henry Leonard.
VIDEO: MPS Board member says budget cuts are inevitable following state aid reduction
"I've already been preparing for this both mentally and pragmatically,” he said.
“What would you tell parents who wonder if the state aid reduction is going to affect their kids?” Jordan asked.
“They don't have to fear that,” Leonard replied. “I really strongly believe that."
Leonard says the school board will have to choose how to balance its budget for the upcoming school year.
He sees three options on the table. One he won’t have any part of is raising property taxes just months after voters narrowly passed a $252 million referendum.
“What would raising the tax levy look like? I know you say you don’t want that to happen but could it mean raising taxes for the average homeowner $100 a year?” Jordan asked.
"It would probably be less than that, to be honest,” Leonard replied. "We have not built that credibility back, that's going to take quite some time to get that credibility back with our community and with our parents and our families and our homeowners. There's just no way that I can see that politically even viable."
Leonard says two other options are much more likely. They include making budget cuts or dipping into district savings. Leonard admits, he doesn’t know how much, if any, savings exist.
That’s why he thinks budget cuts are inevitable.
"It's not going to come from classrooms and schools. It's going to have to come from other areas,” Leonard said.
“Should central office be one of those areas?” Jordan asked.
“It would have to be,” Leonard replied. “Granted, we have a number of people that do important work at central office, but that has to be those are areas we're going to be looking at first if it were up to me."
Leonard knows confidence in the district among parents is at an all-time low following its financial mishaps. He wants them to know the work continues to put the district on a path to success in the future.
“Do you fear that the fallout from this financial crisis could mean a bunch more students open enroll elsewhere?” Jordan asked.
“Definitely,” Leonard said. “I do not want that to happen and I think that's the reason why this summer, staff, administration, finance, board directors have to be totally on top of their game.”
Leonard says the district has until October to set its final budget for the school year.
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.
