MILWAUKEE — Each day this week the community has discovered new depths in MPS' financial crisis.
From Superintendent Posley resigning Tuesday, to the fired comptroller speaking Wednesday and then $16 million in special-ed funding being withheld on Thursday, parents in the district say they're struggling to keep up.
"At this point, I'm not even sure what they're doing," said Shamara Comage.
Comage said her daughter is getting ready to attend an MPS school in the next year.
"Does this make you worried as a mom whose kids are supposed to go to MPS one day?" asked TMJ4's Mariam Mackar.
"Absolutely, it does worry me," said Comage.
As if this week's bombshells weren't enough, TMJ4 learned FridayMPS actually owes the state a massive debt.
"There is an over-payment that MPS has been paid, and by statutory requirements, it has to be paid back. And that's in the tens of millions of dollars," State Senator Latonya Johnson told TMJ4.
Senator Johnson says members of Milwaukee's legislative delegation met virtually with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) this week.
DPI says the district's debt is because of its accounting mess that seemingly goes back years.
"It's exactly why we need an audit," said Johnson. "It's why we need a third person to come in and take a deeper dive."
That's a notion that parents like Comage tell Mackar they agree with.
"I'm surprised they haven't figured it out if it has been going on for years, because I know some schools have been having to shut down because they haven't had funding," she said.
Others in the district, like a former MPS parent that requested to stay anonymous, say it's not surprising to hear about the chaos inside central offices.
"It is a pit," that parent said. "It is a pit where money disappears."
She tells me her kids went to Bradley Technical High School for welding a program that received grants in the past that she claims never made it out of central offices.
"I do not trust MPS," she said.
As public frustration mounts the board with be holding executive meetings next week where we will continue to press for answers.
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