MPS names 3 finalists for superintendent

NOW: MPS names 3 finalists for superintendent
NEXT:

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Board of School Directors announced Friday the names of three finalists it is considered to be Milwaukee Public Schools' (MPS) next superintendent.

After developing an ideal candidate profile that included a preference for an outside perspective, the board settled on three external candidates:

-Dr. Brenda Cassellius, CEO of environmental advocacy group, Fresh Energy, and previously superintendent of Boston Public Schools and Minnesota's commissioner of education

-Dr. Joshua Starr, managing partner at The Center for Model Schools and former superintendent of Montgomery County, Maryland Schools

-Dr. Andrae Townsel, superintendent of Calvert County, Maryland Schools

Cassellius' bio touts a push to change high school graduation standards in Boston and expand access to the city's three exam school. Prior to that, her time in Minnesota included the state adopting all-day kindergarten, state-funded preschool and the highest graduation rates the state had recorded.

Starr, a UW-Madison graduate, spent ten years as a superintendent in two districts, Montgomery County, Maryland and Stamford, Connecticut. He also was the CEO at the non-profit, PDK International. While there, he launched the nation's first career and technical program to prepare high school students to become teachers.

Townsel was the superintendent of Benton Harbor Area Schools in Michigan before taking the job in Calvert County, Maryland. While there, the state's fourth grade reading scores improved from 40th in the nation to 20th. Calvert County Schools were rated the fourth best district in Maryland.

The candidates are vying for a role that opened last June when former MPS Superintendent Keith Posley resigned amid a financial scandal the district is still crawling out of.

More than 50 people applied for the position. MPS board member Henry Leonard told reporters the finalists each featured the top traits the board was seeking.

"Strong leadership, clear vision for the district," he said. "Making sure that they can make tough decisions, so we don't fall back in any kind of bad patterns."

The new superintendent will also be tasked with reversing a trend of plummeting reading scores. New 2024 data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that among 27 participating large urban districts, only Detroit had a worse 4th grade reading score than Milwaukee.

The newest member of the board, James Ferguson, said the search also included an emphasis on finding candidates with a track record of improved results in the classroom.

"We were concerned about the academic achievement of our students," Ferguson said. "So, moving the needle forward on that and making sure that we had a superintendent with a proven track record."

The public will have multiple chances to hear from all three finalists and ask them questions next week. They will travel to Milwaukee and participate in open forums at the MPS central office both Thursday and Friday.

Sessions will begin at 1:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. each day. The sessions will feature a presentation from each of the finalists, followed by an opportunity for community members to ask questions.

"We want the parents to be a part of this next week," board president Marva Herndon said. "And that means that we need to join forces. I know that our community has suffered a lot."

Ongoing financial reporting delay

At Thursday's MPS board meeting, the board heard a presentation from district administrators outlining how the district is entering a new corrective action plan with the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

An amended timeline within the new plan shows the district expected to have its 2023 fiscal year report completed by Friday. It was originally due in September 2023. The DPI gave the district incredible leeway, and did not publicly criticize the district's failure to submit the financial data until last May, when the missing reports jeopardized the agency's ability to craft aid 2024-25 aid estimates for all Wisconsin school districts.

"At this time, MPS is still completing FY23 activities, which has delayed the ability to produce and meet FY24 financial report due dates as currently set by DPI," the updated action plan stated.

The delayed work on 2023's report also held up work on the 2024 report, which was due last September. The new action plan sets a goal of completing that report by late March.

The good news for MPS is an updated flow chart shows the district's beleaguered financial office is almost fully staffed now. New comptroller Begmurad Nepesov began work at the district last week, and the only position still vacant in the 17-position office is for an accountant assistant.  

Last summer, Gov. Tony Evers announced his office was launching audits into MPS' financial operations as well as how the district teaches kids.

Evers' communications director, Britt Cudaback, told CBS 58 in an email the outside firm MGT is conducting both audits. Cudaback said the financial audit will be done first and "my understanding is that it should be finished soon."

Share this article: