MPS puts detailed spending records online
When a citizen taxpayer group, the CRG Network, posted online a database of all invoices paid by Milwaukee Public Schools a few months ago, it brought some amount of criticism of specific items - how much had been spent on food for meetings and parent events, on iPods for student prizes and so on.
But it also led some MPS officials, such as finance chief Michelle Nate, to say the system ought to post the data itself since it's all public information.
Now MPS has done that.
Records of all payments, searchable by school, program, project or vendor, going back to 2004-'05, are online and new invoices will be added regularly, MPS officials say.
""MPS manages millions of dollars in support of public education each year," Superintendent William Andrekopoulos said in a statement. "The district is also in receipt of millions in federal stimulus funds over the next two years. In every decision we make to spend those dollars, we ware committed to transparency and accountability."
Anyone who wants to examine the records can go to http://mpsspending.milwaukee.k12.wi.us.
It's not the easiest database to use. If you have questions about it, you can send them to mpsspending@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.
