Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Keith Posley should be terminated over the district’s failure to submit financial reports to the state, but the repercussions should not end there. MPS needs more than a new superintendent, it urgently needs a mayoral takeover.
For far too long, the school system has been a breeding ground for failure, with countless students falling through the cracks. It has some of the widest reading gaps between black and white students. Historically, it has suspended more students of color, on average, compared to some of the country’s largest and most challenging school districts.
Furthermore, it appears that the district is having difficulty managing its finances.
Twice in the last four years, it has turned to taxpayers asking for help. Both times, taxpayers have stepped up because we know that if the state’s largest school system fails, we all fail. Despite both referendums passing, we learned that Posley and his team failed to provide critical financial reports to the state, some of which were due over eight months ago. And when paperwork has been turned in, it is often incomplete.