Milwaukee Public School Board member Aisha Carr resigns effective immediately

Milwaukee School Board member Aisha Carr submitted her resignation Wednesday evening, according to an email obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The resignation comes after questions were raised about Carr's residency and comments she made about planting a recording device in the district superintendent's office.

Carr's resignation letter did not include an explanation for why she was resigning. She did not immediately reply to interview requests from the Journal Sentinel. The resignation was confirmed by multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

"It has been a great honor to serve the children of the City of Milwaukee," Carr wrote in her letter, adding that her resignation was effective immediately.

Under Milwaukee Public School Board rules, the board can only fill a vacancy by holding a special election. The winner of that election will serve for the remainder of Carr's term, which is up in April next year.

School Board President Marva Herndon said she’s seeking legal advice about how to move forward. She said she was “blindsided” by the news and didn’t have a clue why Carr resigned.

“Losing a person is disruptive but we can handle it; we will handle it,” Herndon said. “It’s still eight people on the board and we will get our work done.”

Carr was subject of investigation by District Attorney's office

Records unsealed in April showed that the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office in January was investigating whether Carr had lied about living in the district she represents. The office has not answered questions from the Journal Sentinel about whether that investigation is ongoing. Online circuit court records do not show any misconduct charges filed against Carr.

Carr, who had shared publicly that she did not live in District 4 while she was campaigning for the north side board seat in 2021, said she was going to move to the district before she got sworn in. She told the Journal Sentinel last month that she had done nothing illegal or unethical.

"As previously stated, I have and continue to reside in my district," she said.

The unsealed search warrant showed the District Attorney's office had obtained Carr's cellphone GPS records to determine where she had been spending time. In asking for the warrant, an investigator for the District Attorney's office said Carr had "filed numerous documents" with MPS listing an address he believed would be shown to be false, noting that utility and voting records appeared to indicate she was living outside District 4 until last year.

It's a Class I felony for public officials to intentionally falsify records, carrying a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and two years of extended supervision.

Carr could have also been subject of MPS board investigation

Separately, Carr told the Journal Sentinel ahead of a April 18 meeting that she believed she was the subject of a misconduct complaint that was reviewed privately by the school board that night. The nature of that complaint has not been made public.

School board members said they were unable to share what happened in that closed-session meeting. Board members had the option to initiate an investigation into the alleged misconduct, which could result in a vote to censure or remove a board member.

Carr had told the Journal Sentinel she expected that the complaints were likely about her because of disagreements she has had with other board members and administrators. Carr has been critical of MPS leadership and opposed the April 2 referendum that raised the district's taxing authority.

Dozens of supporters of Carr packed that board meeting April 18. Residents cheered for Carr throughout the evening, with some speakers saying they would work to vote out any board members who tried to boot Carr from the board.

Carr was recorded saying she planted a recording device

Earlier this year, a recorded conversation surfaced online in which Carr could be heard telling a former Milwaukee Public Schools administrator that she had planted a recording device in MPS Superintendent Keith Posley's office.

Carr told the Journal Sentinel that she did not plant a recording device but had made the false statement to the former administrator to determine whether she was trustworthy.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS board member Aisha Carr resigns mid-term