Evers Administration seeking experienced, qualified auditors with expertise auditing classroom and school settings to conduct independent review of district’s instructional policies, methodologies

MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers today announced his administration is seeking submissions from experienced, qualified auditors with expertise auditing classroom and school settings to conduct an outside, independent audit of the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) district’s instructional policies and methodologies. The request for services comes as Gov. Evers recently announced he would be initiating a waiver to expedite the process, enabling the Evers Administration to move quickly to hire an auditor with qualifications and expertise auditing school and classroom settings to begin an independent instructional audit of the district.

“Conducting an instructional audit at MPS is about doing what’s best for our kids, who must be the center focus of the work to address MPS’s challenges. Hiring independent auditors who have the experience and expertise to audit classroom and school settings is critically important, as is doing a comprehensive review so we can examine classroom learning, the supports and resources available for our educators and staff, and how we can better address external factors that are affecting our kids’ success both in and out of the classroom,” said Gov. Evers.  

“This is a critical step in our efforts to find real, meaningful solutions to the challenges facing MPS and drive future conversations about how we move forward,” Gov. Evers continued. “My administration will be conducting a competitive selection process to find the best auditor for the job, and we look forward to getting both the operational and instructional audits underway so we can help work to get MPS back on track.”

Gov. Evers last month called for conducting two additional audits of MPS and committed to directing the necessary resources to proceed with hiring outside auditors to conduct an operational and an instructional audit, respectively, with the support of the MPS School Board of Directors, local community leaders, and area legislators, among others. 

Gov. Evers on June 17, 2024, announced the Evers Administration opened a request for services under an expedited process to begin conducting an operational audit of the district’s operations, processes, and procedures as soon as possible. The Wisconsin Department of Administration received two submissions from eligible vendors, Moss Adams LLP and MGT of America Consulting LLC, respectively, to perform the operational audit of MPS and is in the process of reviewing submissions and interviewing vendors before making a selection. The project description for the operational audit request for services is available here. The Evers Administration expects to select a vendor in the coming weeks.

While the operational audit will focus on the district’s operations, processes, and procedures, the instructional audit will include an audit of instructional policies and methodologies, which may include, for example, classroom learning environments, professional development policies, addressing external factors affecting classroom learning, and practices to support educators, among other areas.  

The request for services for the instructional audit will be open today, July 3, 2024, through July 29, 2024, and requests that the instructional audit begin and be completed as soon as practicable. The project description for the request for services for the instructional audit is available in its entirety below:  

The Department of Administration (DOA) is seeking responses for the review of the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) district’s instructional methods, policies, practices, and methodologies. This instructional review will be contracted by DOA for a limited engagement for the purpose of conducting that review. 

This review will include but will not be limited to providing the state, MPS, and the public, analysis, guidance, and recommendations for supporting positive learning environments for students across the district; analyzing practices, policies, and processes for recruitment, hiring, retention, professional development, and support of educators, staff, and administrators; implementing curriculum and instruction best practices; achieving the district’s instructional goals; addressing external factors affecting classroom learning.  

Input from and engagement with educators, staff, administrators, parents and families, the district board, and the surrounding community will also be part of the assessment. DOA is seeking a contractor with experience, qualifications, and expertise in these types of reviews in school district, school, and classroom settings and with engagement of community input.

An online version of this release is available here.