Milwaukee committee recommends terminating Central City Cyber School charter after failure to provide dissolution plan

The City of Milwaukee Charter School Review Committee voted Wednesday to recommend that the Common Council terminate the charter contract of Central City Cyber School after the school failed to submit required dissolution documentation and appeared to transfer operations without following the city’s dissolution procedures.

Gail, staff to the Charter School Review Committee, told members that "Central City Cyber School has not submitted the required board approved documentation of dissolution and remains under contract with the City of Milwaukee as an active charter school." Gail said the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) continues to treat Central City Cyber School as an active local education agency for the 2025–26 school year and that DPI requires full reporting and a financial audit in December 2026.

The recommendation grew from a timeline of requests and follow-ups that staff summarized at the meeting. According to the committee memo, Central City notified the city in April of an intent to combine with Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy (HFCA). DPI clarified that a legal merger had not been authorized and requested formal board minutes showing a vote to dissolve. Staff said no official dissolution vote or completed appendix B dissolution plan — which the committee’s contract requires — was produced despite repeated outreach and an exit meeting in June with the school director.

Marlene Melser, who identified herself as a board member for Central City Cyber School, attended the meeting but said she was not aware of any board vote to dissolve. "Not to my knowledge," Melser said when asked whether the board had voted. Melser also said she appreciated the review committee’s support over 26 years.

Committee members and city counsel described the practical risks that flow from an incomplete closure. Gail said DPI "is still counting Central City Cyber School as an operating school," which prevents DPI from reallocating student funding and auditing enrollment until the dissolution paperwork and student-record transfers are complete. Staff repeatedly emphasized that resources paid for by the school — including consultant support from Evidence Change and ML Tharpe and Associates — remained available to help complete the dissolution steps.

Jordan Shettle, an attorney from the City Attorney’s Office, told the committee the city contract gives the Common Council the authority to terminate a charter. "This body itself can't terminate unilaterally," Shettle said, but recommended action by the committee would be forwarded to the Common Council for consideration, likely at its next meeting.

Committee members described multiple unsuccessful attempts to obtain documentation and said the failure to follow the dissolution process was jeopardizing proper funding flows for Title I and special education allocations. After discussion, a member moved to recommend termination of the charter to the Common Council; another member seconded. The committee voted in favor; no opposing votes or abstentions were recorded on the audio.

The committee’s recommendation does not itself end the charter. The motion is a request that the Common Council consider termination based on the committee’s finding of breach and noncompliance. Staff said the city would continue to offer assistance to ensure DPI and other receiving schools obtain student transcripts, personnel records and required financial documentation.

The committee also recorded that DPI’s public listings still show Central City Cyber School as an independent charter for 2025–26 and that HFCA had not renewed its own five-year contract with the city and was not in the city’s portfolio after June 30. Committee members raised concerns that if a new board appointed by HFCA claims to be Central City’s governing board, the city could face conflicting claims at a Common Council hearing.

The committee’s memo and the staff presentation said the school has been an authorizer portfolio school since 1999 and has previously complied with DPI mandates and an expansion grant; the present action reflects the committee’s response to the absence of the required dissolution documentation rather than academic or financial performance during prior years.

The committee recorded the recommendation and will deliver the file to the Common Council for further action. The Common Council has authority under the city contract to effect termination and may consider the matter at its next meeting.