A Council of Great City Schools review presented to the Milwaukee Board of School Directors on July 30 said the district’s Office of Human Resources lacks a clear strategic direction, suffers from uneven application of policies and is hampered by disconnected technology and budget processes. The council recommended a set of reforms that include implementing prior 2019 recommendations, modernizing business processes, and rebuilding the teacher‑recruitment model.

The council’s Ray Hart told the board the review was done “in the interest of continuous improvement,” and he said reviewers found both strengths and significant gaps. Hart noted MPS ranked first in average teacher salaries among Wisconsin districts with 15 or more schools, but also said several long‑standing recommendations have not been fully implemented: “When we reviewed the objectives…the recommendations in the 2019 report, only one of the recommendations in the 2019 report had been completely implemented at the time of our review,” he said.

Why it matters: The council concluded that the HR issues affect hiring timelines, staff retention and classroom instruction. The review linked staffing and process weaknesses to longer time‑to‑hire, inconsistent discipline and “position control” problems that require HR and finance to coordinate more closely.

Key findings and examples
- Leadership and organization: The review said the HR office lacks a clearly defined strategic plan tied to district priorities. Several senior leadership roles had been interim or unfilled during the review.
- Operations and technology: Reviewers found HR and finance systems were not integrated, producing extensive manual data entry and delayed hiring dashboards. Hart said manual work occupied “about 40 to 75%” of some HR staff daily time.
- Teacher recruitment and compensation: The district’s hiring cycles (described as A, B and C cycles) impede early contract offers and flexibility to hire off‑cycle candidates. The council also flagged salary compression where new hires sometimes start at higher pay than existing staff.
- Employee relations and discipline: The report found inconsistent application of progressive discipline and a de facto shift of investigative duties to principals without adequate training.

Recommendations presented to the board include expediting hiring for an experienced human resources executive; implementing a five‑year HR strategic plan with measurable KPIs; phasing modernization of hiring, onboarding and applicant tracking systems; and developing comprehensive retention and professional‑development programs. The council also recommended that the board consider delegating some hire approvals to the superintendent to reduce time‑to‑hire for front‑line staff.

Administration response and next steps
Superintendent Brenda Cassellius described the presentation as a starting point for a full district response and said the district will work with the council on next steps. She told board members that the district already has contractors supporting financial system improvements and that she expected to present a plan to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in August.

The council said a full report and proposed action plan will follow in the fall. Hart emphasized the council’s role as a partner rather than a prescriptive authority: the district should set local priorities and timelines for implementation.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke at the July 30 meeting and are listed in the article’s speaker section.