This year marks the second budget season that Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has navigated under superintendent Brenda Cassellius, who joined the district in March 2025. In taking over Wisconsin’s largest school district, she walked into a thicket of thorny issues.
First, with regard to students, not only were academic results alarmingly low – as they have been for years – but a new normal was threatening to take hold in which almost half (46.2%) of the district’s students missed 10% or more of school days. Second, with regard to the district’s operations, MPS was coping with financial controversy, criticism from instructional and operational audits ordered by the governor as a result, and the recent discovery of lead paint found in schools. All this came on top of long-term structural concerns including state legislative decisions that have hamstrung Wisconsin districts’ ability to raise enough revenue to match the growth in inflation as well as aging school buildings and declining student enrollment that have left MPS with a slow-moving financial and facilities crisis.
The proposed 2026-27 budget (hereafter referred to as 2027) grapples with these operational challenges and others, including the recent discovery of a nearly $46 million negative balance in the district’s main fund as of June 30, 2025. MPS is seeking to bring the fund back to a positive balance in the current school year through some painful position and contractual cuts.
The district would also invest in the 2027 budget, making use of the savings from cuts, the third installment of funds authorized through its successful 2024 referendum, and a limited-term benefit occasioned by the departure of several charter schools from the district. The investments include a net addition of over 550 positions (according to the revised budget book) and a 2.63% cost-of-living adjustment across the board for employees, phased in via two increases over the course of the year.
The superintendent has made a case for adding the new classroom positions, citing their potential benefits for staff, students, and families, with a hope of ultimately strengthening the district’s academics, enrollment, finances, and morale. Yet, the position and salary increases also add to MPS’ sobering fiscal outlook, which is already causing material strain in the proposed 2027 budget and promises to only worsen in the coming years unless the district’s revenue or expenditure picture changes quite significantly.
In the pages that follow, we offer greater detail on the district’s financial position – how it came to be, what the superintendent proposes for 2027, and what lies ahead – and analyze several key factors worth particular attention as the MPS administration, the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, and taxpayers consider this proposed budget. Overall, our aim matches that of previous years: to provide an independent assessment of MPS’ budget. We hope our work will encourage informed deliberations and shed greater light on the overall fiscal state of a school district that plays a crucial role in serving a large number of low-income students in our community and state.