Milwaukee Public Schools proposes eliminating about 260 non-classroom jobs to address a $46 million deficit

Proposal targets central administration and some school-based non-teaching roles

Milwaukee Public Schools is proposing to eliminate about 260 non-classroom positions as part of a budget plan aimed at reducing a structural deficit estimated at $46 million. The changes would be implemented for the 2026–27 school year, contingent on approval by the Milwaukee Board of School Directors.

The district’s plan is structured around moving spending away from central administration and other non-classroom functions and toward school-level instruction. District leaders stated that the package is designed to preserve classroom teaching positions as the budget gap is addressed, while also acknowledging that staffing levels can change from year to year based on enrollment shifts.

Scale of reductions and where they would occur

The district described the proposal as eliminating approximately 263 positions, with an estimated savings of about $30 million. The plan breaks down the reductions into two broad categories:

• Central Services: about 116 positions across multiple departments, including Academics, Communications, Family/Community/Partnership, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, the Office of Schools, and the Superintendent’s office.
• Non-classroom roles based in schools: about 147 positions, including roles such as assistant principals, deans of students, and “implementers.”

District leaders said roughly 40 of the positions identified for elimination are currently vacant, meaning not every reduction would necessarily translate into a layoff. Employees who hold credentials or experience suited to classroom-based work would be encouraged to apply for available roles.

Audits, staffing ratios, and a multi-year approach

The district linked the proposal to recently completed financial audits that it says confirmed the size and persistence of its deficit. The budget plan also references a separate review of the district’s human resources operations conducted by an external organization at the district’s request. In that review, the district cited a comparative staffing ratio indicating that MPS has one central services employee for every 138 students, compared with an average of 166 students per central office employee across large urban districts nationally.

In addition to position reductions, the district outlined near-term cost controls it said are already underway, including a soft hiring freeze for non-classroom roles and a review of contracts paired with a stated goal of $5 million in contract savings during the current school year.

Student support reorganization and labor negotiations

Alongside job reductions, MPS said it plans to establish a unified department focused on “student support and belonging,” consolidating work currently associated with Black and Latino Male Achievement, gender identity and inclusion, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, and restorative practices. District leaders tied this restructuring in part to the end of federal pandemic-relief funding that had supported expanded staffing in prior years.

The district said it is bargaining with union partners and may pursue additional strategies if negotiations do not produce sufficient savings to close the gap.

The school board is expected to weigh the proposal as part of the 2026–27 budget process in the months ahead.