MILWAUKEE — Governor Tony Evers is moving to start two audits of the Milwaukee Public School district.
In a statement Monday afternoon, the governor said he has "...Support from the MPS School Board of Directors, local community leaders and groups, and area legislators..." and is "...Directing [his] administration to proceed with hiring outside, independent auditors... to conduct these audits thoughtfully and effectively."
It's been more than a week since the MPS Superintendent resigned after the state threatened to pull funding because of late financial documents.
So far, we're no closer to getting answers from the district.
Community members tell TMJ4 they're asking for transparency after hearing the district is tens of millions in debt to the state.
TMJ4 went to straight to the Office of the Board of Governance to figure out what that total number is.
The office told Jenna Rae last week they would get back to us on Monday.
Monday, Mariam Mackar followed up on that request and still heard nothing, so Mackar went to the central offices to speak to them directly.
They declined to speak to her.
Within the hour, Mackar received this response by email:
"Today, the board is prioritizing work on the corrective action plan (CAP)… We will provide a detailed update when the CAP is submitted."
We know a draft of that plan that was submitted last week was turned down by the state for being incomplete.
While the district is still working on a draft for a plan to fix their finances, on Thursday the board is set to take a vote on next year's budget.
A meeting that has no space for public opinion on the agenda.
Alderman Scott Spiker on Monday called on the Board of Directors to include public comment or step down from their post.
“That decision is outrageous and cannot stand,” said Spiker. “Be honest with the people or resign.”
Mackar called all the directors for their reaction, however, no one responded to requests for comment.
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