The Centro Hispano Milwaukee, a non-profit organization is terminated or no longer active, Cause IQ dot com reported.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
June 12, 2023
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Unfortunately after 2015, those who took over the daily operations of the Centro Hispano Milwaukee formerly the Council for the Spanish Speaking, Inc. (Spanish Center) after Filiberto Murguia, 73, retired in 2003 as its President and CEO, couldn't continue Murguia's legacy and success in getting federal funding sources for its Head Start bilingual programs.
Filiberto Murguia passed away at the age of 81 on August 20, 2013 after losing the battle against cancer. Carmen M. Murguia passed away on May 11, 2023 at the age of 93.
When Murguia took over the Council in 1973, it had a budget of more than $200,000 and when he retired in 2003, the Council was operating on a budget of more than $5 million.
The Council operated on a yearly budget of more than $6.8 million between 2007-2008 when Luis "Tony" Baez was the President and CEO and managed six housing complexes for low income elders able to live independently. It operated an Adult Education Center, the Loyola Academy High School, Guadalupe Head Start (managed 7 Head Start locations) and a Family Resource Center at the Dr. Filiberto and Carmen Murguia Campus. The Campus was renamed the Dr. Filiberto and Carmen Murguia Campus at 1645 S. 36th St. in 2010.
Today, the Dr. Filiberto and Carmen Murguia Campus remains closed, the building is showing signs of deterioration and has become a history lesson that those who follow and attempt to fill the shoes of a predecessor, if not fully prepared or adequately trained to continue a legacy, they are destined to fail the Latino community it serves.
In 2015, when Toni Rivera-Joachin was selected by the Board of Directors to lead the Spanish Center as the President and CEO, it only took several years under her leadership for the Center to lose its major federal funding source. By 2017 the Center lost its biggest federal grant funding source, the Head Start and Early Head Start bilingual programs in November 30, 2017, which permanently ceased to operate. At least 88 non-union employees of the Centro Hispano Milwaukee Head Start and Early Head Start were layed off permanently, since the Centro Hispano Milwaukee could never fully recovered from financial deficit.
According to Centro Hispano Milwaukee website, the Head Start and Early Start bilingual programs had its administrative offices and a Resource Center at the Dr. Filiberto & Carmen Murguia Campus on S. 36th St. and W. Mitchell Street, and it served approximately 712 children and their families at six (6) sites in Milwaukee area including the Southside. The federal and state funding including other sources totaled more than $4.6M (2010-2011 funding sources report, no current budget report posted).
At the time, the Board of Directors of the Centro Hispano Milwaukee were;
• Julio Maldonado, Chairman
• Aurea Ramirez, Secretary
• Eduardo Herrera-Meir. Treasurer
• Attorney Marisabel Cabrera
• Julia Luna
• Attorney Israel Ramon
• Jesús Santos
• Toni Rivera-Joachin, President and Chief Executive Officer
In November 2017, the Board decided to relinquish its contract and $5.9M in federal grants rather than face termination by the Administration of Children & Families, which oversee the Head Start. In 2014, the Centro Hispano Milwaukee was designated as a "high-risk agency due to financial mismanagement" by the Administration of Children & Families. And an overview of findings by the federal agency dated Oct. 30 said it did not ensure the federal Head Start funds were used solely for that program, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on November 2017.
In 2019, after Rivera-Joachin left the Centro Hispano Milwaukee for a job in Madison, John Yingling, the principal of financial services consulting firm Paladan Group, LLC served as interim executive director of the Centro Hispano Milwaukee and Kay MacKenzie, director of operations worked with Yingling to oversee the daily operations of the Centro Hispano Milwaukee, according to the BizTimes dot com (March 2019).
Currently, the Founders 3 Management Company owns the building properties 610-616 W. National Ave, which includes the Centro Hispano Milwaukee building at 614 W. National Ave. in Milwaukee. According to City of Milwaukee Assessment property records, Founders 3 Management bought the properties on January 11, 2019 for $750,000. They also own the 600-608 W. National Ave. building properties.
The Dr. Filiberto and Carmen Murguia Campus property, which includes 1645-1659 S. 36 Street is still owned by the Council for the Spanish Speaking, Inc. and are valued at $1,150,840 today, according to the City of Milwaukee Property Assessment records.
The question remains, who received and what happened to the $750,000 for the sale of the Centro Hispano Milwaukee properties at 610-616 W. National Ave in Milwaukee?
The 990's IRS filing tax forms records indicate that the last filing was on 2017, according to Cause IQ dot com https://tinyurl.com/4ehuj4xv, it also indicated that this non-profit is terminated or no longer active.
According to a current search the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (WDFI), the license for the Council for the Spanish Speaking, Inc. expired in 7/31/2019 and status is listed as "License is not current (revoked)". There's no listing with the WDFI for Centro Hispano Milwaukee either.
The Centro Hispano Milwaukee operated the Hispanic Housing Corp that owns 4 elderly and low income housing properties, which the WDFI also indicated that its license expired in January 1, 2001.
The Council for the Spanish Speaking, Inc. operated multiple senior or elderly living apartments under Hispanic Housing Corp.
• La Paz, 1313 S. 6 Street, Milwaukee, WI
• Jardin I, 920 W. Madison St., Milwaukee, WI, property valued at $2M
• Jardin II, 1504 S. 6 Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, property valued at $2M
• Santa Cruz, 3029 W. Wells St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, property valued at $2M
These properties show that the Hispanic Housing Corp is still listed as the owner by the City of Milwaukee property assessment listings. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/hispanic-housing-corporation,391445792/
Two prior properties that were operated by the Hispanic Housing Corp/Council for the Spanish Speaking were sold, the Casa Catalina, 3640 W. Mitchell St. was sold for $90,000 in November 1996 and has a value of $2M. It operates as Casa Catalina Corp. The other was La Villa, 5801 W. Lakefield Dr. and sold for $84,000 in November 2000 and is valued at $2M. It operates as La Villa Housing Corp.
But, Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) learned that the Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, Inc. (LSS) claims on its website that they own and manage La Paz, Jardin I & II and Santa Cruz.
Apparently, those who continued to operate the Centro Hispano Milwaukee or the Council for the Spanish Speaking, Inc. failed to be transparent and to publicly inform the community at large about what transpired in the non-profit organization.
Also, the LSS hasn't release any information (search done on the internet and checked the LSS website news and press releases, with no results) that they had acquired or when did they began to manage the four properties from the Hispanic Housing Corp and if, the LSS are the new owners of those properties, then why is the City of Milwaukee property assessment listings still showing that the Hispanic Housing Corp owns those properties?
Another unfortunate situation where a community as a whole allows a non-profit organization to eventually cease to exist and the loss of community services become a thing of the past, which tragically affects the community it served.
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