Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has hired the Milwaukee Public Schools budget director responsible for massive deficits and missed reporting deadlines.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has appointed Nick Sinram, the former director of financial planning and budget services at Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), to lead the county’s Office of Strategy, Budget and Performance.
Under Sinram’s oversight at MPS, the district amassed massive deficits and repeatedly failed to meet state reporting deadlines. Auditors revealed MPS overspent its 2024-25 budget by $46 million, contributing to a projected cumulative shortfall of $420 million by 2030-31 if left unchecked.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) withheld tens of millions in state aid (over $42 million at one point) due to chronic delays in submitting required financial reports. MPS only regained the final withheld funds in January after years of missed deadlines and a state-mandated corrective action plan.
Crowley’s decision to elevate Sinram to a key county role overseeing Milwaukee County’s $1.4 billion budget is baffling. Conservative observers see this as emblematic of Democratic priorities: rewarding insiders from failing systems rather than demanding accountability.
The appointment follows another recent embarrassment for Crowley’s administration. In early 2026, Milwaukee County allowed its health insurance contract with UnitedHealthcare to lapse at the end of 2025 due to an administrative error in the Department of Human Resources. The oversight left thousands of county employees and dependents at risk of coverage interruptions and exposed the county to significant financial liability.
Crowley fired the responsible benefits director, but the incident highlighted ongoing administrative lapses under his watch as his gubernatorial run flounders. The latest Marquette University Law School poll showed him in a distant fourth among Democrat candidates.
