The Tosa Ledger

In light of these findings, the Task Force formally called on the board to commit to the following actions and requested a formal response by Friday, July 18:

• Immediate termination proceedings against Superintendent Demond Means and Mr. Ted Martin (reissued for the third time)

• Creation of an Independent Oversight Commission to evaluate all principal and leadership hires moving forward

• Independent investigations into Madison Elementary and East High School, where whistleblower reports and internal patterns suggest the same administrative harms documented at McKinley are now actively recurring

• A public response to DPI findings of racial disproportionality in special education and systemic underperformance of Black students

• A corrective action plan and third-party audit of equity outcomes at the Wauwatosa Virtual Academy, Underwood, and Eisenhower

DPI EQUITY DATA CONTRADICTS OFFICIAL CLAIMS

At the July 14 board meeting, district leadership again reasserted their commitment to equity. But the 2023–24 DPI ESSA Report Card, now public and cited directly in xCore Part II, tells a different story — one that challenges the official narrative.

The DPI report — including school-level Targeted Support designations — highlights state-flagged disparities in outcomes for several vulnerable student populations:

• • Black students continue to underperform across academic indicators, with Eisenhower and Underwood Elementary specifically designated due to underperformance in this subgroup

  • Students with disabilities face some of the district’s widest achievement gaps, impacting both academic growth and graduation metrics

  • Special education identification continues to raise racial disproportionality concerns, echoing patterns previously raised in internal audits and now documented in xCore Part II

The findings are official, recent, and damning.
And they stand in direct contradiction to district claims of measurable equity progress.

While the district’s rhetoric remains strong, the data released by the state suggests otherwise — reinforcing calls for external review and independent oversight.

BUDGET AVOIDANCE AMID MOUNTING CUTS

At the July 14 board meeting — just hours after Part II’s release — the board failed to discuss new state aid estimates showing a $2.27M cut, compounding an $11M structural deficit.

Instead, the meeting focused on design contracts and presentation optics — with three board members absent.

With an ongoing financial crisis in the district, the Task Force again asks:
Why isn’t this an “all hands on deck” moment?