Milwaukee School Board could fire superintendent Keith Posley on Monday

Milwaukee School Board members could fire Superintendent Keith Posley or take other disciplinary action against him at a meeting Monday night, according to a meeting notice updated Friday evening, days after board members found out MPS had failed to submit key financial reports to state officials.

According to the meeting notice, board members could discuss Posley's employment in a closed door meeting, before possibly returning to a public meeting to take action.

At the meeting, board members may consider "dismissal, demotion, licensing or discipline" of the superintendent. They may also discuss Posley's compensation and performance evaluation data, and confer with legal counsel, according to the meeting notice.

The meeting, at 5:30 p.m. Monday at MPS' Central Office, will also include a public hearing on the district's budget and financial situation. Board members delayed voting this week on a district budget for the 2024-25 school year to get more information about where the district's finances stand.

Also at the meeting on Monday, board members plan to announce the hiring of an outside financial consultant that will help the district get its financial reports in order.

Some community members have called for Posley to resign, or for school board members to fire him, since news broke this week that the district has failed to submit financial reports to the state Department of Public Instruction, some of which were due more than eight months ago. DPI warned that it could suspend funding to MPS if the reports are not filed promptly.

MPS has not granted the Journal Sentinel an interview with Posley.

Milwaukee School Board members have said they didn't find out about the missing financial reports until May 24, when DPI notified board members, which DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher called an "extraordinary step" as the department urged MPS to submit its reports as quickly as possible.

State officials could withhold a special education payment to the district June 10 and a general aid payment June 17 if the district does not have a corrective action plan in place, Bucher said. If MPS later completes its missing reports, it will be able to recoup any of the payments that had been withheld.

MPS board held two closed meetings this week about Posley

Milwaukee School Board members have already convened two closed-door meetings to discuss Posley's employment on Tuesday and Thursday. They didn't share developments from those meetings.

In addition to the late financial reports, DPI has said that MPS made errors in its reported costs for the 2022-23 school year, which could result in a "significant reduction" in state aid for the 2024-25 school year.

Asked how significant the reduction could be, Bucher told the Journal Sentinel the amount could be in the "tens of millions" of dollars. Bucher said he cannot confirm what the errors were until there is more information from the district.

"It is possible grant dollars were coded into the incorrect fiscal year, there are journal entries without complete documentation, and we believe there are incorrectly coded revenues and expenditures," Bucher said.

If state aid is reduced, the district could maintain its total revenue by relying more heavily on local property taxes, which could result in a tax hike, according to Rob Henken, president of the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee School Board could fire superintendent Keith Posley Monday