Gov. Jim Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced an initiative to help improve the Milwaukee Public Schools Thursday.

The plan was created following the completion of an audit ordered by the governor and mayor in October 2008 that stated MPS is in deep financial trouble and highlighted various areas, such as lunch programs and purchasing practices, that could be changed to help improve the district.

“The governor is committed to seeing things improve and this is the first step in that process,” Doyle spokesperson Lee Sensenbrenner said.

According to MPS Superintendent William Andrekopoulos, the district has been working on many of the areas identified as problematic for “some time,” although the report was able to identify and expand on various other problems.

To be led by the governor, Barrett and State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster, the MPS Innovation and Improvement Initiative will have five goals, according to a joint statement from Doyle and Barrett.

The first goal includes having the school district apply for federally funded grants included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grants are awarded to help improve student achievement and academics.

Secondly, the governor and mayor plan to work with community members to help get the most out of the anticipated $100 million in federal funds to help improve achievement in MPS.

Lastly, the administrators plan to create efforts to oversee the district’s financial performance.

The final goal will create an MPS Innovation and Improvement Advisory Council made up of community members to help put MPS and the state in the “best position” to improve student academics to compete for federal funds and grants.

The Department of Public Instruction is required to impose a corrective plan on MPS due to its status as an “identified for improvement” district for more than two consecutive years.

Although the governor and mayor are hopeful the initiative will improve the district, Republicans are skeptical.

“[This is the most] woefully lacking plan we’ve ever seen with regards to reforming and fixing the problems in MPS,” said Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for Steve Nass, R-Whitewater.

Mikalsen said he believes instead of actually fixing the school district’s problems, the governor and mayor are listening to special interest groups, such as the MPS Teachers Union and Wisconsin Education Association Council rather than moving the district forward in a positive direction.

Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, found the audit report “disturbing” but encouraged MPS to use the results to improve the district.

“With such great need in our community, this report represents a call to reform current practices and take leadership in redirecting the education system in Milwaukee,” Grigsby said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.