MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Milwaukee Public Schools recently hired a senior financial officer from Minneapolis who was placed on administrative leave just days after his appointment, according to district documents and reports.
Ibrahima Diop, who served as the senior financial officer for Minneapolis Public Schools for the last decade, was hired by Milwaukee Public Schools on Dec. 18 as the Deputy Superintendent of Operations with an annual salary of $240,000.
However, this past Friday, the Minnesota Reformer reported that Diop and two other senior leaders in Minneapolis were put on administrative leave after the school board learned leaders failed to submit necessary financial paperwork to the state as the district faces a $25 million budget shortfall.
The situation mirrors Milwaukee Public Schools' own financial challenges. In May 2024, MPS also failed to submit its financial records to the state, and the state threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars.
Watch: New MPS deputy superintendent on leave in Minneapolis amidst financial crisis investigation
A spokesperson for the Minneapolis district said they cannot comment due to data privacy laws.
We asked MPS's Superintendent, Brenda Cassellius, for an interview Wednesday. We wanted to know why Diop was hired, if the district knew about Minneapolis's financial issues, and if Cassellius previously worked with Diop during her stint in Minnesota.
In a statement, a spokesperson for MPS says:
"We learned of this new information late yesterday afternoon. We are reviewing it with the city attorney's office and will make a determination based on the facts involved. We cannot comment on the details of any personnel matters."
We've also been told that Cassellius and Diop did not work together previously.
We also reached out to Diop who did not respond to requests for comment.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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