Milwaukee Public Schools will receive over $500,000 from local organizations intending to support initiatives of the new superintendent, Brenda Cassellius.
About two months into the job, Cassellius has announced plans to shrink the MPS central office and divert more staff to teaching jobs amid serious understaffing and criticism of academic outcomes. She’s also contended with public pressure to clean up dangerous lead paint hazards and fix financial problems that drove the resignation of her predecessor, among other issues.
Donations to support Cassellius’ efforts are from several organizations: Herb Kohl Philanthropies and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, according to a news release, along with Bader Philanthropies, Baird, Milwaukee Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation, We Energies and Weyco.
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation will oversee the funds, the release said.
The funding initiative, called the Superintendent Leader Impact Fund, was announced May 12 during an event of the Greater Milwaukee Committee.
“Having met and engaged in numerous conversations with Dr. Cassellius, it is clear that she is bringing the appropriate sense of urgency and action that we believe is needed within MPS at this critical time for the school district. As a result, we want to assist her in meeting the moment as a community,” Joel Brennan, Greater Milwaukee Committee president, said in a statement.
The GMC’s membership list includes business executives, college presidents and other community players. In a November question-and-answer session, Brennan listed several issues facing the district: declining enrollment, poor academic outcomes, problems with facilities, and community distrust driven by financial mismanagement, among other things.
At the time, he said 2025 would present an opportunity “to determine the productive role that each of us can play as collaborative partners, or individually, to disrupt the unacceptable status quo related to education in our community.”
Few concrete details have been released on Cassellius’ plans for the money, or how exactly it will be used.
According to information provided May 12, priorities for funding include:
Spending parameters for the funding include those four main areas, GMC leadership said in a statement, with Cassellius able to use the funds as she sees fit.
“We expect that she will work collaboratively with community leaders on deploying these funds as she has already done in her first two months on the job,” the statement continued. “As this funding is separate from the MPS budget, there is no need for School Board authorization.”
Cassellius also released a statement Monday.
“I am incredibly grateful for the support from the Milwaukee business and philanthropic community,” she said. “Since arriving at MPS in March, I have witnessed the opportunities that exist and the real challenges we face here. With the resources to build a strong foundation for our next chapter, we will be able to make important progress for students and families. This moment requires us to be intentional, bold, and urgent, all of which are not possible without the partnership and engagement of this powerful community.”
(This story has been updated to include new information.)
Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit jsonline.com/rfa.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Local organizations donate $500K to support goals of new Milwaukee Public Schools leadership
Reporting by Cleo Krejci, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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