To address a current $46 million budget shortfall as Milwaukee Public Schools builds its budget for the next school year, the district has reduced non-classroom positions in the district by about 201.  

The Milwaukee Board of School Directors on March 9 approved reducing 263 positions in the district. The final number of about 201 employees affected takes into account positions already vacant in addition to recent retirements.  

The district is working to support the affected staff members in finding roles across MPS by filling vacancies wherever possible. The number includes about 70 positions based in Central Services (including a deputy superintendent position and chief of schools position on the superintendent’s senior team), 62 implementer positions (educators who hold a teaching license but are not assigned to one classroom), and 59 assistant principal positions.  

The district is focused on protecting classrooms and students as it addresses the budget gap. MPS Central Services is overstaffed compared with other large urban school districts, and the school district has more assistant principals than many of its peers. In the future, MPS will have one assistant principal for every 350 students, which still allows the district to maintain a stronger ratio than other large urban districts.  

“Every member of our MPS team brings value to our students and schools, and this was an incredibly difficult decision,” said Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, EdD. “At the same time, our actions will result in $30 million in savings, which reduces our $46 million deficit while helping ensure our classrooms have the resources they need.” 

The savings will help the district maintain and even reduce class size when needed. The district is not cutting the positions of classroom teachers, counselors, nurses, psychologists, or social workers to address the budget gap. As is the case every year, when a school has lower enrollment, there might be fewer staff to reflect the change in student population.  

MPS also will maintain services for students with special needs while undertaking an audit to make sure special education students are properly supported.  

The district will continue to centrally fund critical positions supporting all students, including art, music, physical education, and library staff, as well as counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers.  

Through the critical needs process that allows principals to request extra support, additional positions have been approved for classroom teaching, paraprofessionals, counseling, and art, music and physical education.  

MPS will continue to advocate for adequate funding at the state level, including the additional special education reimbursement that Wisconsin public schools were promised. Any additional savings the district can achieve, or any additional revenue identified, would go toward further critical needs requests from schools. 

The $46 million budget shortfall identified in the audit of the district meant that MPS needed to identify savings before it distributed draft school budgets in preparation for the next school year. The district, however, is on track to finalize a proposed budget in May for the 2026-27 school year and present it to the board for approval.