MPS Parents 4 A Fair Budget

With hundreds of vacancies in student-facing, frontline worker positions and during an historic teacher shortage, the Superintendent is choosing to cut frontline, student facing workers in many schools, including art, music, physical education teachers and school counselors. Paraprofessionals and Children’s Health Assistants’ hours and wages are being cut by up to 25% in many schools.

MPS parents and families, students, and frontline workers are joining together to resist these cuts and demand the Superintendent and School Board President Missy Zombor find the money necessary to prioritize students and workers in classrooms and find savings in the over $280 million in MPS contracts. There is also $26 million dollars sitting in Section 3 school budgets that can be used NOW to protect classrooms and keep workers whole. We can and must stop this!

MTEA will be hosting a town hall for MPS parents and families with MPS School Board Directors to hear from MPS families about the havoc caused in their schools by the Superintendent’s budgeting process as well as parent and family priorities in the 2026-27 MPS budget.

Students welcome and encouraged to attend!

Join us in protecting our public schools! Please RSVP here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SBHVH9Z

22 schools!!!

Hmmmmm….

Fewer individuals are graduating from educator preparation programs in Wisconsin, and an even smaller share are going on to become licensed teachers in the state, according to state education officials.

This is the private consulting company based in Minnesota with links to Superintendent Cassellius’ former Chief of Staff, that was awarded almost $300,000 total after bypassing competitive bidding processes. It is the same company that is advising on restructuring budgeting decisions.

"Today, I am here as an MPS parent, representing MPS Parents 4 A Fair Budget - a campaign representing parents who trust Milwaukee Public Schools with their children every single day - and who are increasingly concerned about the direction this district is going.

What we are seeing right now is not just a budget problem. It is a leadership problem. Because when you strip away the language of “alignment” and “strategy,” what’s actually happening in our schools is simple:
Our kids are losing support. They are losing art teachers. They are losing music and physical education.
They are losing counselors, paraprofessionals, and health aides. These are the people our children rely on - not just to learn, but to feel safe, supported, and seen. At the same time, we are watching money continue to flow away from classrooms - into central office expansion and outside consultants. So we have to ask, plainly: How does cutting student support make our schools stronger? How does removing trusted adults from buildings help our children succeed? It doesn’t. And parents know it.

We also need to address what we are hearing from district leadership - because it does not match what families are experiencing on the ground. We are being told that no classroom staff are being cut. We know that is not true. At Golda Meir School for instance we are losing 5 paraprofessionals, a reading specialist, and a 3rd grade teacher. These are classroom positions. We have been told important support staff are being preserved. Our school is losing .5 FTE psychologist and an assistant principal. And our school is not alone. Our children are losing the very teachers and staff they depend on every day. You can label these positions however you want on paper - but in real life, in our schools, these are vital student supports. And they are being taken away.

We are also being told that class sizes will go down because assistant principals will move into
teaching roles. This assumes these positions will actually be filled in a district that already struggles with
vacancies. It assumes assistant principals who are being displaced will apply for those roles - and stay -
moving into different school communities while ignoring realities concerning specific licenses
and credentials that may not translate into the open positions. And it ignores the critical role assistant principals play in maintaining safety, stability, and daily operations in our schools. This is not a real solution. It is a short-term talking point that creates long-term instability.

This administration is not solving the staffing problem - they are shifting it. They are not reducing class sizes - they are making a promise they cannot guarantee. And they are not strengthening schools - they are destabilizing them. We are also being told there has been “collaboration.” But parents, educators, and school communities are being asked to approve decisions without enough information, without enough time, and without real influence. That is not collaboration. We have been shut out. And when families are shut out, bad decisions get made. We are seeing that play out right now through a chaotic budgeting process that is forcing schools to make cuts without clear guidance, without transparency, and without a real plan. Let’s be clear about what that means for families: It means larger class sizes - not smaller ones. It means fewer adults in the building. It means less support for students with the highest needs. And it means more instability in the schools our children depend on.

At the same time, the district is refusing to fully invest in the staff we still have - denying a full cost-of-living adjustment in the middle of a staffing crisis. As parents, we know this makes no sense. If we cannot retain educators, how do we maintain stable schools? If we cannot stabilize schools, how do our children succeed?
We are also deeply concerned about how decisions are being made - especially when it comes to large consultant contracts that lack transparency and meaningful oversight. Public dollars should be going to students - not to processes that families cannot see, question, or trust.

This is about priorities. Right now, the message families are receiving is this:
Classrooms can absorb the cuts. Students can absorb the loss. Families can absorb the disruption. We reject that. Our children are not line items. Their support systems are not optional. And our voices are not an afterthought. That is why we are calling on the School Board to act immediately and stop rubber stamping
this administration’s agenda.
• Call a special meeting this month.
• Reverse the cuts to frontline staff.
• Provide a full cost-of-living adjustment to retain educators.
• Pause this broken budgeting process.
• And restore transparency, accountability, and real collaboration.

Because at the end of the day, this is not complicated. Strong schools require stable staff. Stable staff require responsible leadership. And responsible leadership starts with putting students first. We are calling on the board to defend our communities and our schools. Be our voice. Act now. Thank you."

Send a letter in support of workers today: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-the-mps-school-board-cut-contracts-not-classrooms/

Let the Board know! Cut vendor and consultant contracts first, not our hardworking staff and teachers!

Tell the MPS School Board: Cut Contracts, Not Classrooms! Join MPS students, parents and public education workers in calling for the MPS School Board, OAE, and Superintendent to reverse cuts to student-facing workers and agree to a full cost of living adjustment on July 1st, 2026 for all MTEA workers.