MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- State education officials confirmed Friday, May 23, they will withhold additional funding from Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) if the district fails to submit long overdue financial data by next Friday.

In a letter earlier this month, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DPI) warned MPS it intended to withhold aid if the district failed to submit financial data from the 2023-24 year.

MPS missed the first of two state deadlines this month when it didn't turn in its 2024 fiscal year aid certification by May 16. 

The district's failure to submit required data last spring led the DPI to withhold a monthly special education payment for $16.6 million.

Deputy State Superintendent Tom McCarthy said in an interview Friday MPS still hadn't done enough to trigger the release of those dollars, and he confirmed the DPI will withhold more aid if MPS misses a May 30 deadline to turn in audited financial data from the 2024 fiscal year.

McCarthy confirmed MPS would be able to eventually access any money the state withholds, but it comes down to when the district provides the data.

"We have to make sure we're not hurting kids but also get off this hamster wheel a little bit," McCarthy said. "With this cycle now we've seen twice of the district saying, 'Hey, we got this,' then getting to the end of the line and not having it."

The district was docked more than $42 million last summer to make up for overpayments it received after submitting inaccurate data to the state. The financial scandal led to an uproar on the heels of voters narrowly passing a $252 million referendum for the district, and it cost the former superintendent and chief financial officer their jobs.

McCarthy said issues still remain with MPS moving away from an outdated financial reporting software system and getting in line with what the rest of the state's school districts use. He added he believed the district was now in better hands under new Superintendent Brenda Cassellius.

"I think Dr. Cassellius and her team and her new vision toward some things here are heading toward the right place," McCarthy said. "But change is hard, and it takes time, so we're not gonna let off until we know for certain things are done."