MPS proposed budget would slash $11 million from schools, cut 140 positions

Milwaukee Public Schools will eliminate more than 140 positions across the district and cut about $11 million in spending at its 161 schools next year under the proposed 2018-'19 budget, the last spending plan put forward by Superintendent Darienne Driver before she departs for a new post in July.

The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the $1.17 billion budget at a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Thursday before the school board's Committee on Strategic Planning and Budget.

Driver had warned in recent weeks that cuts would be coming as the district struggled to rein in what was expected to be a $38.7 million gap between projected revenue and expenses. And she said this week that the proposed budget reflects the difficult "sacrifices that have to be made."

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"Eighty-eight cents of every dollar we spend is in the schools, so every reduction we make will impact schools directly," said Driver, who had brought forward a number of potential cost-saving measures, including changes to employee benefits and busing, that were rejected by board members.

"It's very difficult to make those choices. But when you are trying to preserve music and art and small class sizes, and trying to make sure programs continue, these are the tough choices that need to be made."

The teachers union criticized the proposal, saying it disproportionately affects students in the classroom rather than central-office administrators and that it fails to adequately compensate teachers and others who have the greatest impact on the daily lives of students.

"We’re looking at class sizes for 4-year-olds that are nearing 40 children in a classroom ... and we're nearing 50 in high schools," said Amy Mizialko, vice president of the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association. "We need as many capable staff as we can get inside schools and interfacing with children in classrooms every single day. That's where we make a difference."

Board member Michael Bonds said he does not think the budget goes far enough to address the structural problems facing the district. His point: MPS was built for a capacity of 100,000 students but declining enrollment has dropped that to about 76,000.

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A frequent critic of the teachers union, Bonds said he would propose an amendment to eliminate a 2.13% across-the-board cost-of-living raise in order to restore some of the school-level cuts.

"I think it's unfair that schools are taking the burden, said Bonds, who argues that teachers have seen pay increases in each of the last four years.

MPS is the state's largest district with about 76,000 students — the majority low-income and many in need of costly services — and 10,000 employees. It is in the midst of one of the most contentious budget battles in years, brought on by a convergence of factors, including declining enrollment, which affects state and local funding. MPS is also contending with inflation, rising health care and legacy pension costs, and an aging system of buildings mismatched to its needs.

The 2018-'19 budget reflects a $10.9 million drop in revenue and increased costs of operation, including a projected 5% rise in medical costs and 12% for prescription drug expenses, according to documents available on the district electronic school board website.

In all, the district will spend about $1.17 billion next year, including about $937 million on school operations. It also includes $290 million in outside contracts, down by about $4 million.

Union leaders argue the district could cut more contracted services instead of school budgets, but Driver said many of those contracts are for services in the schools.

The district's central office, consisting of 10 departments, will spend $207.3 million next year, down from $211.1 million.

Among the provisions, the budget would:

Cut per-pupil spending for schools by 5% and central office budgets by 15%.

Cut 146.5 full-time positions, including 80 teachers; 49 paraprofessionals, or aides who work in the classrooms; and 21.5 non-school staff. The district said actual layoffs should be minimal because of attrition and vacancies. A detailed distribution of staffing cuts shows a wholesale shuffling of employees with cuts among secretaries and building services workers, but increases in the number of psychologists and nurses and nursing assistants.

Speed up the timeline to boost wages of the district's lowest-paid workers to $15 an hour, to three years from five.

Spend about $11.8 million overall on raises. That includes the 2.13% cost of living raises and so-called Road to $15, as well as a seven-year plan to increase compensation for paraprofessionals. It does not include funds for a step system sought by the union to compensate teachers according to experience, or health care benefits for substitute teachers.

Delete a $2 million a year premium for a little-used long-term health care insurance plan for employees. It does not include a proposal by Driver to shift more health care costs onto employees, which was projected to save about $15.8 million.

The board is expected to approve the budget in November.

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The latest round of budget cuts follows a similar slashing last year, when MPS eliminated 96 teaching positions and 98 aides, then had to slash an additional $19.4 million in November to account for a loss of federal funds and higher-than-projected health care and pension costs.

MPS has projected its deficits to increase to $177 million by 2022-'23, and Driver said more cuts to classrooms would be inevitable unless the district can rein in some of its larger expenditures, including transportation and employee benefits.

"This is going to continue to be an ongoing challenge," she said. "We want to get to a place where we're talking about growth. Not just cuts every year."

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the budget is expected to translate into a tax rate of $8.52 per $1,000 in home value. That is the current year's tax rate. Next year's rate will be determined after the budget is finalized in November.