Milwaukee Public Schools is addressing the district’s deficit and directing resources to students as it continues to build its budget for the 2026-27 school year. Recent updates to the budget include up to 40 hours for paraprofessionals.

After working to review all department and school budgets, the district has determined it can provide up to 40 hours a week for paraprofessionals where school leaders have the need and staff members are interested. Previously, when the district first began work on the budget, it was able to guarantee the current schedule for most paraprofessionals of 30 hours a week. 

MPS is continuing to work with its union partners on this issue as well as increasing counselors to 200 days a year from 191 and increasing overall compensation for children’s health assistants.

In addition, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has approved the use of school improvement grant funds to support the funding of instructional facilitator teacher (IFT) positions in MPS schools.

An instructional facilitator teacher is an instructionally aligned, school-based role that better matches the intention of the federal school improvement grant. This teacher leader position will work closely with the school leaders to help strengthen the district’s literacy plan by providing instructional support to teachers.

The funds and positions will be available in schools eligible for Comprehensive School Improvement (CSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) grants. The district is working to provide additional support for schools not designated for CSI/ATSI or for more rigorous intervention (MRI) but are designated Title 1.

Additional Updates

MPS is updating its budget proposal to ensure that all standalone middle and high schools and all K-12 schools have an assistant principal, including those with fewer than 350 students. The overall 350-to-1 districtwide assistant principal ratio for elementary, middle, and high schools is stronger than the ratio in peer school districts, which often have one assistant principal for every 500 students.

The total number of art, music, and physical education teachers has been updated. The district expects an increase of seven teaching positions for 2026-27 across the district, compared to the current school year. All MPS art, music, and physical education teachers who might move to a different school based on enrollment will be able to stay in MPS. This is true for classroom teachers, as well. The district is estimating a net increase of about 90 teaching positions next year compared to this year.

Every International Baccalaureate school will have an IB coordinator. Some positions were incorrectly reduced because they were not titled as coordinators but as implementers, which the district is addressing.

The administration continues to be committed to providing steps and lanes in salary schedules to reflect experience and additional degrees and credits.

In sum, the budget protects resources for classrooms, values MPS employees by achieving a 2.63% wage increase for all employees by January 1, 2027 (still in bargaining), provides steps and lanes, and makes no changes to the employee health plan design.

More MPS budget information can be found on the district’s 2026-27 budget planning web page.

“This budget will help us set MPS up for success in the year to come, putting resources where they are needed the most: with our students and our valued employees,” said MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, EdD.