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Milwaukee Schools financial advisor ‘making good strides’
The financial consultant hired by Milwaukee Public Schools to help fix the financial crisis said Thursday that the missing audit data is not indicative of the district’s overall health.
Todd Gray was hired on June 3 at the request of the Department of Public Instruction, after it was revealed there were serious problems in the MPS.
Gray helped DPI write a corrective action planthat found the district has an inexperienced and understaffed finance office that used an outdated accounting system to run the state’s largest school district.
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“They don’t have a budget problem here,” Gray said. “The district can operate normally. They can move forward as they normally do – kids’ programs, folks – it’s just going to take some time and technology to fix. But so far we have made progress and met the deadlines that DPI set for us.”
Gray will work with audit manager Paul Geib under the guidance of Matt Chason until July. Chason heads the district’s office of accountability and efficiency.
Photo courtesy of Todd Gray
MPS is paying Gray up to $48,000 for his work.
All overdue financial data must be forwarded to DPI by September 26, according to the plan.
School board member Megan O’Halloran, who sits on the MPS Strategic Planning and Budget Committee, said Gray “is widely respected as a problem solver and financial expert by colleagues and constituents.”
“I am confident in your ability to help us meet this challenge,” said O’Halloran.
Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools Keith Posley resigned the same day Gray was hired.
MPS Chief Financial Officer Martha Kreitzman retired immediately following Posley’s resignation. Controller Alfredo Balmaseda was fired the following day.
The action plan presents 12 open vacancies in the financial area of the MPS. Gray is tasked with reviewing and revising job descriptions for current openings. He said his first priority is to help MPS hire a CFO and Controller.
Just as important is updating the software so that it can communicate with the DPI. MPS currently uses an outdated spreadsheet system.
Gray said a programmer is working on a temporary fix before new software is implemented, which he recommends.
“This kind of change in this kind of district is a huge undertaking,” Gray said.
Gray is no stranger to helping school districts correct financial mistakes.
He was hired by the Glendale-River Hills School District earlier this year after accounting errors by the district’s business manager resulted in a budget deficit of US$3.6 million. The error forced that district to cut 13 positions.
Gray said in River Hills the problems were budget-related. At MPS, it was a mix of bad technology and communication problems.
Milwaukee Public Schools has three executive offices: the superintendent, the board governance office and the office of accountability and efficiency, to which Gray now reports.
He said the office is not responsible for what happened. He placed the blame solely on the finance department.
“They weren’t involved in that, it was specifically a finance function,” he said. “When people are missing in key areas, things simply don’t get done. The situation escalates and a person who could be in charge of reporting simply doesn’t have the information they need because of vacancies or other problems and this simply paralyzes.”
Gray has experience as a superintendent, consultant
Gray earned a dual master’s degree in accounting and school business administration from UW-Whitewater and a Ph.D. from UW-Madison.
He served as superintendent in the Waukesha School District from 2008 to 2020, then became a consultant for the law firm von Briesen & Roper.
Waukesha Superintendent James Sebert said he had known Gray for many years before succeeding him at the district.
“He is a warm, genuine person who relates well to others and is financially minded for schools,” Sebert said. “He will be a great asset to the MPS.”
Gray was called back to education in September 2020, when he served as interim superintendent for three years.
Gray said he saw the MPS work as a challenge and was happy to help.
“Some days are a little frustrating, but most are good,” Gray said of her work at MPS. “We need to look forward. I’m sure we’re making good progress here and the team is working hard to take care of things.”
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