The "McKinsey Report"

A few days after this month’s election, the Journal Sentinel headlined: “Study finds millions in waste at Milwaukee Public Schools.” The headline itself misrepresented both the accompanying article and the report itself, titled Toward a Stronger Milwaukee Public Schools.

The report consists of two quite different parts. One is a detailed review of the challenges facing MPS, both financially and in raising student achievement. The other has a series of detailed suggestions of ways to save money on administrative costs.

But beyond the content of the report are its implications for the future. Its funders are a who’s who of the mainstream Milwaukee funding community. The report is introduced by a letter from Governor Doyle and Mayor Barrett, in which they promise to take a much more active and continuing role in the affairs of MPS. Although Barrett and Doyle avoid spelling out specifics, they do say that “MPS must make major changes to improve its performance management.”

As the report was release, Barrett and Doyle promised to establish an advisory panel, called the MPS Innovation and Advisory Council. This panel would be charged with developing an "action plan" to improve MPS, particularly using federal money, including stimulus funding, as leverage. As of this writing, there is no indication of who might be on this panel.