MPS committee adopts resolution to create operational review committee

The Committee on Parent and Community Engagement of the Milwaukee Public Schools board on March 11 voted to adopt Resolution 2425R-10 to establish an operational review advisory committee.

The committee voted 3-0 to approve the resolution after a motion by Director Zomber to adopt the resolution and to direct the administration, in collaboration with the Office of Accountability and Efficiency and the Office of Board Governance, to present the committee charge to the full board. Director Ferguson and Chair Leonard joined Zomber in the aye votes; two directors were excused. The motion record lists no second in the transcript. The vote was recorded by Dr. Owen Moore, secretary to the committee.

The resolution was introduced by interim superintendent Eduardo Galvan, who told the committee the item had been referred from the Feb. 27 full board meeting and that the administration recommended adoption. Members of the public called for swift implementation and community oversight. Angela Lucas Foley, an educator and MPS parent, said, “I’m speaking tonight in favor of resolution 2425R-010,” and urged the board to treat the state audit’s recommendations as a “gift” and to act on them. Lucas Foley and other speakers tied the resolution to findings in a state-commissioned audit.

Community speakers who supported the resolution included Lucas Weir, who described longstanding staff shortages at high-need schools and said the district had been balancing budgets on “200 to 300 vacancies,” and Theresa Fallaron, a longtime former paraeducator who said the resolution was a needed “step in the process” of district improvement. Angela Harris, an educator and advocate, told the committee the operational advisory committee should “operate through an equity lens” and backed quarterly reporting and transparency.

During committee discussion, Director Zomber asked whether the operational review committee should be combined with an upcoming instructional audit; Chair Leonard and interim superintendent Galvan said the current resolution addresses the operational review but that the board could later choose to align or combine reviews. Director Zomber also pressed for clarity on which office would be responsible for scheduling and presenting the committee charge; the motion adopted makes the administration, in collaboration with the Office of Accountability and Efficiency and the Office of Board Governance, responsible for presenting the charge to the board.

The resolution and supporting public comments repeatedly referenced a recent audit commissioned by the governor’s office; the transcript cites that audit as a rationale for creating the advisory committee. The committee recorded the motion, roll call and outcome in the minutes.

The committee’s action is procedural: it creates the advisory committee and sets who will present the committee charge to the board; no further policy or budget decision was taken in this meeting. The administration indicated it will return the committee charge to the full board once prepared.