More Interesting Spending at MPS Revealed


Click in bottom right hand corner to scroll through the April Check Register

MacIver News Service -[Milwaukee, Wisc…] As the fallout from the passage of its annual budget continues to be felt, Milwaukee Public School’s spending practices continue to come under scrutiny.

Expenditures include thousands of dollars for leather coference chairs and trophies, and tens of thousands of dollars for what the district labeled as “Contributions” to United Way.

Calls to officials at the MPS district office on Vliet Street in Milwaukee requesting comment on these expenditures went unanswered

The MacIver News Graphic, above, includes only some of the expenditures to vendors from May, 2010. We ran a similar graphic and story last month and this will now be a regular feature at MacIver News. However, anyone can can examine the MPS checkbook for themselves, at anytime, online.

MPS spending is a web tool developed by Milwaukee Public Schools to allow the public to review and analyze school district spending. The site allows users to examine spending by several criteria, including school or department, funding type (Board or categorical funds) and vendor. The tool tracks expenditures that are processed through accounts payable. It does not track contract amounts or budgets.

The district’s new budget bridged a $33 million budget deficit from last year, and Superintendent William Andrekopoulos has sent layoff notices to hundreds employees to bridge the gap.