Milwaukee Public Schools to vote on staffing cuts and contract changes amid projected $46 million deficit

Special meeting scheduled as district prepares its 2026–27 financial plan

Milwaukee Public Schools leaders are asking the Milwaukee Board of School Directors to take a series of steps tied to the district’s 2026–27 budget outlook, including reductions in non-classroom staffing and multiple employment-related actions. A special board meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 9, 2026, at the district’s Central Services Building, 5225 W. Vliet St.

The proposals come as the district works to close a projected $46 million structural gap. The superintendent’s plan centers on reducing certain non-classroom positions and shifting resources toward schools, while also advancing changes connected to compensation structures, contracts, and staffing transitions.

Proposed position reductions and projected savings

The superintendent has proposed eliminating about 263 non-classroom positions for the 2026–27 school year. The district has said the reductions would save about $30 million if approved. Approximately 40 of the affected positions are already vacant, meaning not all reductions would result in layoffs.

The outlined reductions include:

• About 116 positions in Central Services, spanning multiple offices including Academics, Communications, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, the Schools office, and the Superintendent’s office.
• About 147 non-classroom, school-based roles, including assistant principals, deans of students, and implementers.

District officials have stated that classroom teacher positions are not included in the proposed cuts as a budget-balancing measure, while acknowledging that staffing levels can also shift with enrollment changes. Employees eligible for classroom-based roles would be encouraged to seek available positions.

Board agenda includes compensation and staffing-transition actions

The meeting notice lists several items for board action and discussion that intersect with budget planning and workforce management. Among them are a request to authorize “steps and lanes” increases for eligible staffing categories for fiscal year 2027, a request to standardize principal employment contracts to a 12-month term, and an item seeking approval of an excessing, redeployment, and retention strategy with an implementation timeline.

The agenda also includes a health-care coverage briefing for the 2027 calendar year, a work session on the board’s committee structure, and consideration of negotiation strategy related to base wage proposals exchanged with bargaining units. The notice provides that the board may enter closed session for certain employment and negotiation matters as allowed under state law.

Public testimony is scheduled for agenda Items 1 through 5, with options to participate in person or virtually.

State funding context and what happens next

The district’s budget planning is unfolding against a state funding environment in which general school aids are projected to remain flat in percentage terms in coming years, increasing pressure on local budgeting decisions. For MPS, the March 9 meeting represents an early, high-impact set of decisions that could shape staffing levels, labor agreements, and administrative structures ahead of final budget adoption for the 2026–27 school year.

The board’s decisions Monday night will determine whether district leaders can immediately proceed with the proposed staffing and contract steps tied to the upcoming fiscal year’s financial plan.