State Superintendent Jill Underly was reelected Tuesday, beating educational consultant Brittany Kinser to continue leading Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction. 

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The state Department of Public Instruction sets the direction of public education in Wisconsin. Here’s what the agency and the state superintendent do.

The post Voters will decide the next state superintendent April 1. What does the Department of Public Instruction do? appeared first on WPR.

State Superintendent Jill Underly and challenger Brittany Kinser met online yesterday in the first and only public forum before the April 1 election.

The post State superintendent candidates Jill Underly, Brittany Kinser trade barbs in only forum before April 1 election appeared first on WPR.

At a school board meeting this week, dozens of parents either spoke out or wrote letters opposing the district’s annual staff allocating process.

The post Madison parents, teachers upset over district staffing changes appeared first on WPR.

A private Christian school in Milwaukee has grown over the last five years to become the largest recipient of funding through Wisconsin's Private School Choice Programs.

The post Wisconsin’s largest voucher school bringing in $40M by recruiting virtual students appeared first on WPR.

A private Christian school in Milwaukee has grown over the last five years to become the largest recipient of funding through Wisconsin's Private School Choice Programs.

The post Milwaukee Christian voucher school growing exponentially by recruiting virtual students appeared first on WPR.

More than half of Wisconsinites say educational standards are too low, but at the same time, they don’t know if reading and math test scores have gone up or down. 

The post Poll: Public school satisfaction trending down, but Wisconsinites unclear on details appeared first on WPR.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison was one of 60 higher education institutions warned about a potential loss of federal funding if they fail to protect Jewish students. 

The post Trump administration warns UW-Madison it could lose federal funding appeared first on WPR.

Still, the four-year graduation rate varies depending on race and location. 

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Over the next two months, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and high school athletic directors will decide if student athletes should profit from their name, image and likeness. 

The post Wisconsin could allow high school athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness appeared first on WPR.

The Milwaukee School of Engineering is building a $76.5 million artificial intelligence learning center, which will house its new center for applied artificial intelligence. 

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Wisconsin is producing more teachers than are retiring from the profession, and enrollment rates in educator preparation programs are trending upward, according to a new report from the state.

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The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s decision that a state program that distributes grants to minority college students is unconstitutional. 

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A conflicted Green Bay School Board voted to remove DEI language from several job descriptions.  The 4-3 vote Monday came after the U.S. Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” […]

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At a business park in Waukesha County, one mom is working to do what she says the federal government is no longer interested in: creating a school that will be a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ students. 

The post Public charter school in Waukesha County wants to offer a safe place for LGBTQ+ students appeared first on WPR.

Lawmakers say the “Help Not Harm Act" will protect minors from “making life-altering, irreversible decisions that cause mental and bodily harm.”

The post GOP bill would ban gender-affirming care for minors in Wisconsin appeared first on WPR.

More than a year after ending its decade-long affiliation with the Milwaukee Education Partnership, Milwaukee Public Schools is still trying to recoup money from the organization for work it never performed. 

MPS sent an invoice to Milwaukee Education Partnership on Dec. 19, 2023, for $64,170. The district sent four follow-up invoices to the organization before turning the matter over to Kohn Law Firm in May 2024, according to records obtained by WPR. 

The school district is still awaiting payment from the now-defunct organization, which was led by Gerard Randall, a top Wisconsin GOP official who helped secure the Republican National Convention for Milwaukee.

Randall did not respond to requests for comment from WPR. 

School board member Missy Zombor said the money Randall owes to MPS could be used to serve students. 

“That’s potentially an educator in front of a student,” Zombor said. “I mean, $64,000 is not a small amount of money, so not being able to recoup those funds impacts students directly.” 

MPS ended its relationship with Randall after reporting by WPR in collaboration with Wisconsin Watch brought the questionable history of his nonprofit to light.

During its relationship with MPS, Milwaukee Education Partnership received nearly $1.3 million in no-bid district contracts, promising to improve student achievement in the district. 

In 2022, the partnership received $64,170. That money was for the group’s Milwaukee Connects program, which aims to “enhance the pipeline of graduates from Milwaukee to Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” according to the contract.

The contract required the partnership to provide 10 graduating MPS students with semester-long paid internships to include professional mentoring, housing and transportation between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023.

In an email exchange last year with WPR,  Randall said “a cohort is being developed for the semester beginning January 2024.”

He would not answer further questions.

The students were never provided mentoring or internships, but Randall did receive the payment, according to documents obtained by WPR. 

Milwaukee Education Partnership was also listing several high-profile officials in tax filings as board officers without their knowledge. 

They included Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, former Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Keith Posley, former Milwaukee Area Technical College President Vicki Martin and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone.

Despite the controversy, Randall  continues to serve on a variety of high-profile boards, including the Wisconsin GOP, UW-Madison’s Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership and Visit Milwaukee. 

After being elected to the MPS board in 2023, Zombor began examining various MPS no-bid contracts. When she visited the Milwaukee Education Partnership website, she found it featured years-old financial reports and listed names of people no longer associated with the group.

Zombor began asking questions, which ultimately led to Posley suspending the district’s relationship with Milwaukee Education Partnership in November 2023.

Zombor says she would like MPS to explore its options for awarding contracts.

“It feels like this contract was potentially for a fictitious nonprofit,” Zombor said.  “We have to trust that when vendors or partners come to MPS that they’re being honest about the services they provide. But I think we have to continue to enhance the accountability of the procurement process so that we can safeguard public money.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

Milwaukee Public Schools still trying to recoup money from GOP official’s defunct nonprofit is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.